Hide and Seek

This seems to have been such a LONG week…..I am kinda glad it’s over and the weekend will be here shortly!  Not that the weekend makes anything that happened this week less important but it just feels like hopefully the air will be a little lighter that’s all!

It is also She Shares Truth Friday!  I am not sure how many of you are participating in the Jonah study from She Reads Truth but it has been really amazing; the thought that the Lord wanted Jonah so badly that he pursued him across an ocean is incredible.  When you add in that he was being a stubborn and flat-out running in the opposite direction of his call it makes the story drip with God’s grace and mercy!  And not just for the Ninevites, but for Jonah, and ultimately for you and me.

I read the first two chapters of Jonah (you can read them here if you would like) and was honestly shocked at how fast and far Jonah ran away.  He heard his call from the Lord and immediately boarded a ship that would take him basically across His known world in the opposite direction of where God had called him.  Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he decides to go take a nap in the bottom of the ship while a storm rages above him.  It’s almost like he was trying to get as far away from God as possible; like he was saying “Go ahead, and try to find me here!”

And God found him, and took him even deeper; to the bottom of the ocean in the belly of a huge fish!  Can you imagine? Not only was Jonah’s faith completely outdone by the heathen crew (when they heard he was a Hebrew, they showed so much more fear and respect for the living God than Jonah did), but it took being in the belly of a fish to prove to Jonah that God will NEVER fail!

I wonder how differently we would live our lives if we truly believed that He never fails?  If we could step back and look at the mountains in our lives and keep climbing knowing that with God we will not fall!  We may not be able to see what the plan is exactly (Jonah thought he was gonna bring the judgement of God down a sinful city) but trusting His heart can make it easier to walk His way.

And Jonah’s salvation came through the Lord alone.  In the belly of that giant fish at the bottom of the ocean Jonah called out to God and He heard.  In that moment Jonah realized His God would never fail!  It didn’t matter how far he tried to run, or where he tried to hide;  GOD NEVER FAILS! And His grace will chase us to the depths of the earth if that’s where we run!

Another great song from Hillsong United;  God is Able

Have a great weekend!