I love the story of Jonah. It’s true and relevant. Most of what we remember about Jonah is his stay in the belly of a whale and the praise he gave to the God Who put him there. But there are other principles appropriate for Believers on the run or for heathen captains of ships to be converted by the manner in which Jehovah God handles His runaways.

To review the details, Jonah did not want to obey God and go to Nineveh to preach the Gospel so he booked the first ship going in the other direction. Well there was this humongous storm and the ship’s captain went down into the ship to see just who this new traveler was. They had to wake Jonah to ask him. I love the answer; it makes me laugh whenever I read it. Jonah said, “I am a prophet of the Lord God Jehovah, Who sees everything, knows everything and remembers everything.” And so, the Captain cried, “What are you doing?” Jonah, somewhat discomfited answered, “I, sir, am running away from Him.” Running away from the One God Who sees and knows everything?! What a futile exercise! You can’t run away from God. You can run for Him, with Him, against Him, but you can’t run away from Him.

The principle that newly impresses me is Jonah’s condition during the turbulence of the storm. He was asleep, the picture of peace, but a false picture! Don’t mistake the weariness of disobedience for the Peace of God. They who have gone down to the sea in ships have seen the works of the Lord then – oh, awesome then – they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He brought them out of their distresses. In that there is peace, the deliverance of God, not in the fainting of exhausted human measure, but in the relieving of God fully recognized. They who go down to the sea in ships learn the Jonah lesson: delayed obedience is better than no obedience at all, but the best obedience is immediate.

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