Daily Devotional for Monday, July 20

Jonah in the Presence of God

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord,” Jonah 1:3.
As a pastor, I have had the opportunity to observe people that are under conviction. Typically, without talking to a person, you can tell that they are under conviction by their actions. They may be restless, sweating or acting in a manner that is uncharacteristic of their normal behavior. There seems to be an uncomfortableness, aside from physical pain, that they are experiencing. Many people under conviction during a sermon cannot seem to sit still during the invitation or are in a hurry to get out of the church building, as though that will get them away from the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of God.
In the case of Jonah, God had called him to go to Nineveh and preach to them (Jonah 1:2). That same presence of God that was convicting him was the same convicting power that God wanted to use with the people of Nineveh to get them to repent. They needed to know that if they did not repent that they would be among those, “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Jonah, however, was only worried about himself and was doing all he could to get away from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3). Jonah’s behavior is indicative of any child of God that tries to flee from the calling of God, but, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

REFLECTION
Stop trying to run away from God and His calling on your life. You will be much happier if you allow Him to use you.

Tim Chambers