Nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide...Forgiveness? never!!

Enemies...horrible, heart wrenching, hellish and heavy on the heart!! Well, if those realities are not enough to contend with, imagine suddenly going out for a walk to talk with the Lord, who has proclaimed, Hebrews 13,

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”[a]

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.    What can mere mortals do to me?”[b]

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

and...in the middle of your serene walk, you realize that there is going to be an encounter with the enemy!! Yes....God has said He is our Helper and that He will never forsake us...but now here comes the enemy...!! Oh no...your heart is pounding and your hands are shaking...and you even forget to breathe!! Oh..yes...you are going to run..right into the direction of your Father's arms and your feet dramatically change 180 degrees! In fact..your speed also doubles...your walk is now a run...!!!

Too bad at this point we do not consider Habakkuk 3:19 and the strength we have when we run with the Lord, 

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Habakkuk 3:19 NIV

Well, according to Israel, the Home of God the Father, and the presence of the Lord is within Israel's borders!! Truly, Israel would have been the only safe spot to be....Jonah would have never wanted to leave the safety of God's presence, and had perhaps walked too closely to the edge of the borders of his land...his home..his comfort, seeing the ways of evil!! Sadly, and in distress, Jonah receives God's call to go to a real enemy and to a place known to be away from the safety and presence of the Lord. Ha! 

Jonah Flees From the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa,where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

Yeah...no duh, "its wickedness has come up before you, Lord...!! To all Israel too, Lord...has the wickedness of this great enemy that has attacked you and us.... and killed so many....!!! Wow!! Interestingly, Jonah..so afraid to follow God out of the safety of Israel to Nineveh doesn't run home...he runs away from Israel...!!! Caught between a really hard Rock and a super hard place, Jonah cannot run home because God is there...and He cannot go to Nineveh because the enemy is there. 
Principle, when things seem to not make sense and life does not seem fair...that's when we have a choice to life by faith, trusting God about what we cannot bear.


So, Jonah goes to Tarshish and beyond..and away from the Lord... because he cannot bear the thought of what Nineveh means....Notice the real issue about Nineveh is not that God would not have protected Jonah from danger, it's not even the fear of facing a great enemy that might be bigger than you! The truth in the running is in the not wanting to forgive people that have done evil acts.  We don't want to forgive them...Our little song might sound like this, "Forgiveness they should never gain until they have had to pay with Pain...!!!!"

 Right? However...there is an even bigger danger for us if we do not forgive....it's not just that we are out of God's protection or presence...


Principle: Going Away from the Lord is always in the center of danger...!!! Never go to Tarshish, creating an even bigger blunder. 

The Bigger Blunder is found in God's Word...If we do not forgive...God will not forgive us...!! 

Hear the Word of the Lord, 

Matthew 6:15New International Version (NIV)

15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Remember...don't pick on Jonah...He didn't have a copy of this new testament passage!! However, you and I do!!! Oopse!! 

The Great Interview and the greatest call of all!!

All of us have talents and most definitely all of us play out these gifts and talents on camera!! Did you know that? Not one of your gifts, or shortcomings are secret to the Lord?  Yikes! Did you know that all of us are trying out for something? All of us are indeed applying to play a part, a role, a job for someone, something, somewhere out there?  My Dad has been interviewing for different jobs now for quite sometime!! Although there is no doubt that he is the right man for the job of pharmacist just about anywhere...the search for the words, "you're hired" didn't come as expedient as perhaps most of us would like, you know?

And then there are the words of the Prophet Jeremiah 29:11,

I know that plans that I have for you says the sovereign Lord...plans to prosper you and not to harm you...Yeah..yeah yeah..whatever...!!

Here is a picture of my dad...

Mom is in there too of course....You'll notice the bright smile and the generally cheery disposition!! Dad is always positive at work and full of bright and sunny solutions to the jungle madness of a pharmacy! Clearly, Dan the pill man...was called to be a pharmacist. Anyone that knows my dad concurs with the facts; Dan is now and will always be, Dan the pill man!! Have you ever known someone who didn't get a job that was so completely the right person for the position? Isn't the fact that sometimes the results to an interview or a life changing "no" to our "yes" are so mind blowing and seemingly illogical? Well, no where in history could we find a more mind blowing "no" to our "yes" than in the book of Jonah! Although perfect for Israel, successful in all Israel, and truly happy in all Israel...Jonah's certain set of skills sent him up for an interview with the Lord that he didn't expect!! Although from a heavenly perspective, when God's call comes, it's always a promotion...LOL...we don't always see it that way do we?  Neither did Jonah see his call to go to Nineveh as the honor and compliment that it was, did he?  Today...Seek to see God's promotion for you...

Principle:

When you seek to be rightfully placed in this world, you will always be demoted...

When you seek to be rightfully placed in God's plan, you will always be promoted!!

The enemy

Have you ever looked an enemy in the face and tried to smile..yet..somehow...in absolute certainty...you were unable to smile, to respond, to breath? What causes this reaction, or this still moment of terror mixed with sadness? Let's begin by defining what an enemy is in the first place!

en·e·my

ˈenəmē/

noun

1. a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.

   synonyms:

   opponent, adversary, foe, archenemy, rival, antagonist, combatant,challenger, competitor, opposer; More

   • a hostile nation or its armed forces or citizens, especially in time of war.

     noun: the enemy

     "the enemy shot down four helicopters"
   • a thing that harms or weakens something else.

     "routine is the enemy of art"

   
   
2. Did you know that I am weak tonight? I am weary and tired...and yes drinking another cup of coffee that I don't need due to enemies!! 

As for Jonah...I notice something interesting...He is sleeping soooo soundly on a boat...clearly he is at peace and he clearly skipped the coffee and opted for one venti -sized cup of good night napping!! 

Hear the Word of the Lord,

Jonah 1:4-6a

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? 

I'll tell you how he can sleep and sleep quite sweetly....Ha! He's not facing his enemies..he's running away from them....!!!!!  Go Tarshish!! Lol!! Jonah is pretty smart right up until the whale comes on the scene, isn't he?  

Just a thought...but when you compare the sleep of Jonah on this boat to the sleep of Jesus on another boat on another stormy day..you find that the sleep is similarly sweet but the difference is in the question, "why was the sleep sweet?"  Jonah's sleep was sweet because he was deceived that he had escaped facing a great enemy...the sleep was sweet but short lived for sure...!! In fact, in just a few moments of time, the whale came to swallow Jonah whole. In contrast, God Himself is asleep on a boat...but because He, in truth, has conquered the storm; He's conquered the enemy, and He has no reason to fear. The Peace is not short lived, but everlasting.

Principle:

When you instead of running, conquer the enemy,

 The whale..the wolf and the snake are laying at your feet.

Remember that when facing an enemy, or someone who is hostile towards you..has weakened you...take along some power and strength that is not of this world...Take Jesus with you and let Him help you breathe...

If you sleep soundly...make sure it's because of the truth and not a lie.  Don't escape your enemies...face them! Oh, and while you do..learn a whole lot about that process and then teach me, okay?  Here's a video about the need to breathe!