Craig Clouston

Running in Rebellion

But Jonah ran away from the Lord.
Jonah 1:3

Pam quietly raised her bedroom window and climbed out on the roof. She laid the note she’d written on the windowsill and closed the window as quietly as possible. With as little noise as possible, she crept to the trellis and climbed to the ground. Pausing to take stock of her surroundings, Pam took one last look toward her parents’ bedroom window and then slipped into the woods.
For two hours she followed the road to town, hiding in the bushes whenever she heard vehicles approaching. Reaching the rendezvous point, Pam took the flashlight from her backpack and, pointing it in a southerly direction, flashed it on and off three times in rapid succession. Moments later, her signal was returned. As Pam headed toward Gregory, she was beginning to have doubts about this. Hearing his approaching footsteps, Pam quelled the urge to turn around and run home. Instead, she cranked up her resolve and quietly called out, “Is that you, Greg?”
“It’s me. You ready?” he asked.
“I guess,” she said sullenly. “Do you really think this is the only way?”
He tried to put her doubt to rest. “Once they get your note, they’ll realize they’ve been too hard on you. Then they’ll be ready to listen,” he said. “Just wait, you’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said but couldn’t shake the sensation that what she was doing was wrong.

†

Running from our problems doesn’t bring resolution; it only delays the inevitable—facing our issues. We must meet our problems head on because no matter where we go, until they’re dealt with, they remain.
Running away is a form of rebellion, born out of disappointment, anger, or resentment. In Jonah’s case, it was all three. Jonah thought he knew what was best for Nineveh and made no effort to hide his displeasure with God.
God allowed Jonah the freedom to rebel. He even allowed Jonah to run away. But what He didn’t do was break off His pursuit of Jonah. In the end, Jonah repented of his rebellion and delivered God’s rebuke to Nineveh, which brought about their repentance and salvation—a lesson for us all.

Prayer

“Lord, keep my heart from rebellion. Draw me to Your side and keep me there. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”