Home » Adversity, Obedience

The Prophet Who Ran Down

9 March 2010 2 Comments



Leaders must model what they request.

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:1-3a)

Where are you running – toward or away from God?

Who among us hasn’t heard God telling us to do something we really didn’t want to do? Sometimes it’s easy to convince ourselves that we know better than God what needs to be done.

Jonah was a godly prophet, yet when God commanded him to preach repentance to the Ninevites, Jonah ran in the opposite direction. As he ran, he went nowhere but down – down to the seashore, down into the bottom of the ship, down to the water, and down into the belly of the fish. Jonah learned what can happen to the man or woman who is called to lead but how shrinks from that role of leadership.

One can only imagine the wretched conditions inside the creature God had prepared to temporarily house Jonah. But was it any worse than the situations into which we put ourselves when we run from God. Eventually the Lord will bring us to a place where we have little choice but to stop, listen, and obey.

But why wait for such an unpleasant place?

Leaders may not always understand why God wants them to do certain things, but He doesn’t ask us to depend on our own understanding or logic. Rather, he calls us to walk in obedience to His instruction. Don’t make it necessary for God to introduce you to the inside of a fish.

Note: Most of today’s message above comes from the Maxwell Leadership Bible.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I’m ready to do things Your way. Make it clear what You want me to do and bless me with the will and courage to obey. Thank You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessing of the Day
“Abiding in the Vine” (Part II) – Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston [YouTube video]

Blessings to choose to run toward God!

Joseph

Joseph's storyJoseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
Dr. Breakthrough, THE CONNECTOR, and The Journal Guy
Founder and Executive Director of Webinars777
Breakthrough Life Coach helping your DREAMS come true
Creative Marketing and Communication Specialist

Empower 2000, Inc.
Empowering and Connecting a New Generation of Godly THOUGHT LEADERS
POWER NETWORKING God’s Army
Changing Lives to Disciple Nations

Connect – BE Blessed To Be A Blessing
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thejournalguy
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thejournalguy
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thejournalguy
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/MastersmindMarketing

Stay connected on Linked In  Stay connected on Twitter  Stay connected on Facebook  Stay connected on YouTube  RSS Feed

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course “30 Days To Breakthrough!” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

30 Days To Breakthrough

Print Friendly
Facebook Twitter Email

2 Comments »

  • Bertha Hinson said:

    Joseph,

    Thank you for picturing for us that which happens when we procratinate doing a task that makes us uncomfortable. Little do we realize the spiritual stance we have taken. Jonah clearly pictures for us the position we have taken, that our ways are taking presedence over the will of God.

    This helps me to keep a short rein of correction with the Lord.

    Bertha

  • Dr. Joseph Peck (author) said:

    Hi Bertha, Thank you for taking the time to share your comments about not procrastinating. Procrastination can be very subtle in how it sneaks up on us. We need to keep our spiritual ears tuned to W-GOD and then move when He says move. I love your word picture to “keep a short rein of correction with the Lord.” Blessings, Joseph

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.

CommentLuv badge