How often do children do things the first time you ask them? While I don’t have my own children, I do have a class full, and when it comes to them it’s a rare occasion they follow instructions first time. Instead, they would rather listen to me repeat myself over and over, very much like a stuck record, and then IF I’m lucky then they will do as I asked.
We, as adults, are very much the same. How often do we do things the first time we are asked by God? If I’m honest, I would compare myself to the children in my class. Mostly ignoring God’s instructions and instead continuing what I am doing, even though I can hear that voice telling me something over and over. Some of us find being obedient easier than others, and I think it also has much to do with the directions and situations we feel God is calling us to follow.
Consider Jonah. Here is a perfect example of how we are more than happy to be obedient to God when it suits us, and especially when it fits in with what we are comfortable with. God spoke to Jonah and told him to go to Nineveh, but Jonah had a very different idea.
“The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai:”Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgement against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.”
Jonah 1: 1-3
Rather than follow God’s instruction, he stuck his fingers in his ears and instead turned and ran in the opposite direction!
“F-E-A-R: has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours.”
Zig Ziglar
Clearly, Jonah opted for the ‘Forget Everything and Run’ route. And quite honestly I don’t blame him. The Ninevites were known for being a rather nasty bunch. So, when faced with the prospect of having to go there and deliver God’s message to the people, Jonah decided the job wasn’t for him. And we all know how things ended up for Jonah soon after. Cast overboard during a storm, followed by three days in the belly of a whale! A situation that does not sound pleasant by any measure. Jonah tried to run from God, a notion that is merely impossible.
“Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and the earth?”
Jeremiah 23:23-24
In the end, Jonah ended up exactly where God wanted him to be, and completed his instructions of delivering the prophesy to the people of Nineveh – even if Jonah was still very unhappy about doing so. If Jonah had simply obeyed God’s instructions first time, he would have avoided a short break inside a whale’s digestion system. Jonah did not want to go where God was calling him to, and similarly you may not feel ready to be obedient.
“When God calls us to step out of our comfort zone, He is not calling us to be comfortable in the situation, He is calling us to be comfortable in Him, in spite of the situation”
Stacy. L. Sanchez
When we are faced with moving in a new direction, it will naturally feel overwhelming or daunting. And like Jonah, we may not want to let go of what we want or think is best, and decide to start running in the opposite direction. But God takes us out of our comfort zones, in order for us to grow in spiritual maturity, to transform us and challenge our faith, to strengthen our relationship with Him. In such times, this is where we must learn to put our trust in God fully. In spite of where He is leading you, God knows the outcome and it is inevitably good! Therefore, you need only have faith and be freely obedient to His calling. You can either look at change as a scary, gloomy event or as an opportunity that can lead to something wonderful and far better than you have ever imagined. We must strive to take the other route of Fear – face up to everything that God has spoken to you and rise up to take the challenge He has set before you. Our choice is to either live outside His best for us, or to participate with Him in the bigger picture He has designed for our lives. When we try to run away from God we miss out on the joy of obedience.
What is it God is saying to you today? What are you been called to do? As I say to my class, time to switch those listening ears on! Be bold and be brave in taking those first steps to where God is leading you towards.
God Bless 🙂
STEADFAST 