One day, I was feeling rather ambitious and set a goal of reading a whole book of the Bible in a day. I thumbed to Jonah.
(Spoiler alert: Jonah is only four chapters long.)
As I read, the Holy Spirit hit me like a truck. A cutesy, dramatic, slightly-unbelievable, classic children’s Bible story quickly became a personal favorite.
Lectio Divina: What Sticks Out?
When reading the Bible, especially using the format of lectio divina, it is common to notice a word or phrase that sticks out. Here, we are encouraged to ponder and reflect upon what it means in our lives, or how it is speaking personally to us.
Almost immediately, I was struck by one phrase that appears multiple times throughout the book.
Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord.
In just the first chapter, this phrase is used three different times in two separate passages:
But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.” (Jonah 1:3; emphasis added)
Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.” (Jonah 1:7; emphasis added)
This phrase is used to explain Jonah’s response to God’s call to preach to the people of Nineveh. Instead of obeying God, Jonah boards a ship sailing in the opposite direction.
The repetition of this phrase told me God had something to tell me.
But despite the repetition, I was perplexed by this unusual turn of phrase in the context of the story.
Why didn’t the author say something like “Jonah disobeyed God,” or “Jonah didn’t listen to God,” or “Jonah didn’t like what was being asked of him, and so he avoided the call”?
What Scripture is Trying to Teach Us
Since Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, there is a reason why the author of Jonah used that unusual turn of phrase—fled from the presence of God—to describe Jonah’s decision and subsequent actions. God is trying to tell us something through those words and also through the repetition of them.
God had given Jonah a unique calling. This was the work God had planned for Jonah, and Jonah alone, from the beginning of time, and God was asking Jonah to love and serve Him through this particular call.
While it is clear that Jonah turned away from this call, how was he also fleeing from God’s presence?
Because it is in the living out of the unique call that God gives to each of us that we truly remain in His presence.
God Called Jonah. How is He Calling You?
God calls each of us uniquely. He has a special plan for each and every single one of us. It might be through our vocation, our work, our family, our place of residence, or our relationships with the people around us.
For me, I know that God has called me to love and serve Him in this current season by loving and serving my husband and two squirmy little boys. But there are days when it can be very tempting for me, like Jonah, to run away from the call of being a wife and mom.
Why Do We Flee?
Being a mother is hard. It forces me outside of my comfort zone. It challenges me to grow and to sacrifice myself for others. It requires me to face my own selfishness on a daily basis.
Fleeing from God’s calling, especially when it’s hard, is a common response for many of us, whether He is calling us in our work, vocation, relationships, or ministry.
In all honesty, I run away from my God-given call all the time. I distract myself with screens or with the busyness of my schedule. I numb my emotions with eating, music, shopping, or even overconsuming “good content.” I ignore, avoid, or put off those things which are most important under the guise of doing the most urgent. I look for easy ways out or for a “break,” as I count down the hours until naptime, bedtime, or any type of relief. Fill in the blank for yourself.
When life gets hard, we tend to run away.
And yet, this is actually very foolish. Because it is within the living out of the call that God has given us that we find His grace, His strength, His very presence. He is Emmanuel, God With Us. He is not with us in the past, or in the future, although He has been and He will be. He is with us in the here and now, in the exact place we find ourselves. He wants nothing more than for us to practice being aware of His loving presence in every moment.
In my own life, He is with me in the diaper changes, the endless loads of laundry, the temper tantrums, and the sleepless nights. He is with you wherever you are. If He’s called you there, He won’t leave you there alone.
What We Can Learn From Jonah
By not answering God’s call, Jonah was in fact fleeing from God’s presence. And where did that leave him? In the midst of a raging storm and finally in the belly of a fish!
And can’t we relate? I know I’ve been right there with Jonah. Because of my avoidance or hesitancy to respond to God’s call, I have found myself in the middle of a raging seastorm, away from God.
But even when we flee from His presence, God continues to seek us. He never stops drawing close to us. He gently and persistently calls us back to Himself.
He called Jonah a second time, and this time, Jonah answered. He has given me hundreds of calls, sometimes every day.
When we recognize our turning away from God, let’s be gracious with ourselves. We are in the company of a man who has a whole book of the Bible written about him, albeit four chapters. But in it, we learn a valuable lesson: It’s never too late to turn the boat around.
Let us embrace the call God has given us in the present moment. Let us not flee. His presence is here.
Gracie Muraski splits her time between Ohio and Colorado with her sons and husband. She is passionate about reading, writing, long-distance running, and intentional conversation.
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