On the way but in the opposite direction! (Sheena Marx)

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But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

Jonah 1:3 (NLT)

I have longed to buy a ‘ticket’ to anywhere during Lockdown. So did Jonah! He sets off, but of course in completely the opposite direction to where God sent him. He could have just stayed where he was and ignored God.

The ticket he bought on a ship leaving Joppa for Tarshish, was in the opposite direction to Nineveh. and it proved to be a very costly one! Tarshish was a much more exciting place than Nineveh, it was a trading place and had a ‘buzz’ about it! Nineveh, by contrast, was an unhappy city run by tyrants. In Jonah’s mind one offered adventure, whilst the other offered probable death.

God never stops speaking to us, if there is something He has asked you to do, in or out of lockdown, I want to encourage you not to run in the opposite direction. The opposite direction could be just dwelling on the ‘grass being greener’ somewhere else.

Of course there was a ship to Tarshish, of course there was space for Jonah, the enemy will do anything to entice us not to set in motion the call of God on our life.

Are you just about to buy ticket to Tarshish? The attempt to run away from God won’t work, He loves you too much to let you go.

A prayer: Father, help us to listen to your voice above all others and to hold onto the fact that if you ‘call’ us you will equip us. Strengthen us to run towards you not away from you. Amen

Sheena Marx

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