Here’s something to keep in mind—you can’t successfully run from the presence of God, but many have tried. It said of Jonah after having received clear directions from God, “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” —Jonah 1:2. God was not only right behind Jonah as he fled, but He was in front of Jonah and all around Jonah, in the wind and in the great fish. When you run away from God, you bring trouble wherever you go. You will bring trouble to work and trouble on the highway. When you run from the Lord and begin to live in a manner you know is against God’s Will, you bring trouble to your house and trouble to the Lord’s house.
This is for the child of God who thinks they know better than God Himself. You may be able to sleep in your trouble just like Jonah slept in the storm, but you will not sleep in the whale. It’s amazing to me that God didn’t just kill Jonah, but that tells us there is grace for the rebel runners. It would shock us to know how many live in the deep consequences of disobedience to God. I’ve been there and perhaps you have to, and it’s very likely you will come into contact with someone running from the Lord before you come into contact with someone who has the virus. In case you come into contact with a runner, unless they will hear you and turn back to the Lord, your only option may be separation. Make this note right here, not every difficulty and trial is a sign of rebellion. But if you have been swallowed by a difficult circumstance, you should examine yourself and also know there is grace for another chance. If the winds of trouble are stirring, it might be someone near you inviting God’s correction.
Jonah got a second chance to do God’s Will because the One true and living God is full of grace and mercy. We all have an option when God starts calling—receive the call and walk in obedience or rebel and run. Let me encourage you to put the way you feel on the ship and let them sail away, and let us do God’s Will.