2022.10.30 - You Can Run But You Can't Hide

You Can Run but You Can’t Hide We need to be reminded of the same lesson Jonah learned, “You can run but you can’t hide.” Let’s take a look at how God begins the process of bringing Jonah back home. As we see how God deals with Jonah, we’ll discover that God deals with us in the same way when we disobey. I) He Sends Storms to Get Our Attention (1:4-5) Jonah is starting to learn that it isn't as easy to run away from God as he may think! In fact, it's starting to look like even the elements and nature itself is rebelling at his rebellion! A) Our Storms Affect Us in Different Ways We all know that life can turn on a dime. God knows exactly how and what to get our attention. Our God is infinitely creative. He can send the storm in so many different ways. B) Our Storms Affect Others Around Us Everyone on board is endangered by Jonah’s sin. Jonah was the sinner in this situation, and yet his foolish rebellion endangered everyone around him. Please ponder these four words: We never sin alone. Every step we take out of the will of God hurts those around us. II) He Sends Someone to Challenge Us (1:6-9) How could a man sleep during a terrible storm like this? The answer is simple. The devil has his sleeping pills too. He knows how to put us to sleep while the world crashes in around us. Look what happens next: A) They Expose his Slumbering (v.6) Seeing the danger, he wants Jonah to wake up and start praying. The world doesn’t want our sermons. The world wants our prayers. Ponder that thought for a moment. The lesson is clear. The world waits for us pray. The world wants us to pray. The world wonders why we don’t pray. Are we hearing what Jonah heard? “Wake up! Wake up!” “Why aren’t you praying?” “My life is falling apart. I need you to pray for me.” B) They Expose his Disobedience (vs.7-10) Verse 7 says the sailors cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Casting lots was an old way of answering an unanswerable question. Roll the dice and let God (or in this case, the gods, as the pagan sailors believed) decide wh