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Perfect Storms- Hiding or Jumping In


Storms are a part of every aspect of our lives.  

Storms can be terrifying, bewildering, exhausting and confusing.   

We lose our bearings.

Sometimes, God calms the storms and sometimes He goes through them with us.  

Every now and then, I wonder if He sends or allows the storms because He loves us and wants us near His presence.  Being and doing what we are called to do.

At the point of the storm we can jump into something "ready" for us to escape or we can return to God.
The story of Jonah's running away from God's presence and the storm that brought him back gives me comfort and peace.

We each have a choice to run and hide or jump in to God's presence and to His will for our lives.  

To throw ourselves off our safety nets and into God's perfect storm!!!!!!!!

God told Jonah to go and share a word with the people of Ninevah, because they were a mess.  BUT Jonah ran away from God's presence.  He ran to the shore and paid for a fare on the nearest way out.  God sent a wave and the ship began to break up.  Jonah was sound asleep below deck until the Captain woke him up and told him to call to his God.  The sailors cast lots to see who was responsible for this storm.  The lot fell to Jonah.  The sea became more violent and Jonah told them to throw him in.  The sea became calm and then sailors (who were not believers) believed!

1.  Jonah knew God, His Word and His voice. 

2.  God had told Jonah to get up and go.  "Ninevah was a giant city and was wicked.  He was supposed to "go to Nineveh, and cry there upon the spot against the wickedness of it." (Matthew Henry)

3.  Jonah ran to get away from God.  From His presence.  From His Word and from His voice.  Maybe if he got away from the place, God would quit asking him.

4.  "The ready way is not always the right way." (Matthew Henry) A ship was ready to set sail and was available.  He paid his fare and jumped in.

5.  When the storm hit, Jonah owned up.  He told his shipmate he " fled from the presence of the Lord, that he was here running away from his duty, and the storm was sent to fetch him back." (Matthew Henry) 

6.  The storm brought him back to God's presence and His work.

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