Olympic Run

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh”, but Jonah arose to flee ... from the presence of the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3 NKJV

Olympic athletes strain to get to the prize. Nothing seems to get in their way as they chase their dream of a medal. They are fixed, focussed and trained, and then it is all expressed in one final push to make their dream come true.

The story of Jonah can be quite funny at one level, if it wasn’t such a serious story. Jonah was in a race right enough, but a race away from God, and he put everything into it. If there was an Olympic medal for running away and hiding from God, it would go to Jonah. No question. He used every means he could find to avoid God, or ignore His commands, and Jonah thought he had won that race, but thankfully God is sovereign and had other ideas!

That’s a bit like us isn’t it? Actually it’s a LOT like us I think. If we think God might be asking us to do something, or go somewhere, or see someone, we second guess the feeling as being well just that... a feeling. Or if the conviction persists, we will go in the other direction and do something else which may be good and nice, Godly even, but not what was asked. We start off walking away from the Spirit’s direction, and very soon we are sprinting, head down and determined, like an athlete with one goal. Like Jonah, we run away from God’s will, but again God is sovereign, and His will prevails. Just as well, isn’t it?

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. Psalm 139:7,8 NKJV