Friday, April 13, 2012

“Quit Running”

First I would like to start off by saying… Happy New Year! Now that all of the “formalities” are out of the way (lol), I’d like to talk about something that NONE of us EVER experience …  
                                
That’s right, FEAR…. because we’re NEVER fearful, we’re always certain about our next move, and we never get anxiety about what lies ahead….right? …. Nah, I didn’t think so…we all deal with fear from time to time (notice I didn’t say we live in fear constantly). According to dictionary.com, “Fear” is defined as “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real OR imagined.” Even without a definition we can all categorize “fear” as an unpleasant, uncertain state of being that holds us back from people, places, or things….things like RUNNING from God’s call on our lives.
                                                   
 Let me take a moment to reacquaint you with Jonah. Most of us remember the story of “Jonah and the whale” we were taught in Sunday school classes across the nation, but I can’t ever remember anyone telling me how Jonah ended up IN the “whale.” Well if you aren’t sure as to how ended up there either, you’re in luck my friend!
The very first two verses in the book of Jonah begins with the Lord giving Jonah a task to do: Go announce judgment against the city of Nineveh because of their wickedness. Jonah 1:3 reveals how not only did Jonah get up and RUN the OPPOSITE way of where God told him to go….he bought a boat ticket out of town. {Surely, we’ve never heard the voice of God calling us to do something and have run the other way…..that’s the awesome thing about God, even when we did He gave us grace.}
As Jonah Chapter 1 continues, the ship Jonah boarded was caught in the middle of a terrible storm and sent the crew into a frenzy, throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship. When the crew realized Jonah was sleeping, they woke him up, asked him how could he sleep through all of the chaos and to get up and pray to his God. {Amazing how when we’re not following God’s call on our lives the number of lives we affect of those around us…even when we seem to “escape” sometimes.}
Moving through Jonah Chapters 1 & 2, Jonah is revealed as the one who is the cause for the ship’s trouble and asks that he be tossed overboard to stop the storm (which happens and after the storm calms, the crew thanks & vows to serve the Lord). This is where Jonah ends up in the belly of the great fish, repents to God and prays for three days. Chapter 2 sees Jonah asking God forgiveness and in Chapter 3 Jonah heads to Nineveh to pronounce the Word of the Lord. When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s message the officials called for a corporate fast (a period of repentance, mourning and sacrifice) and when God saw this He held back the destruction planned for Nineveh…. a great city of 120,000 people was saved.
My question to you: How many people’s lives will be impacted by YOUR obedience to the things God has called YOU to do? How many of YOUR friends & family will want to live for God after they see how God’s transformed YOUR life?

You can answer that question better than anyone and I want to encourage you NOT to be afraid of it!!! The Bible declares that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7), and we have to TRUST God’s plan for our lives. You don’t think Abraham was scared to wander off into the wilderness or Moses was afraid of leading a whole nation to the Promised Land??? But one thing they had in common was the ability to trust God’s Word over their emotions.
I just want to encourage & remind you of a few things: 
1. God KNOWS the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you & not harm you, to give you a hope AND a future! (Jer. 29:11) … God knows EXACTLY what He’s called YOU to do…and KNOWS you CAN handle it!
2. When God starts a great work in you, He’s PROMISED to see it through to completion (Phil 1:6) … He’s not gonna quit on you!
3. And oh yeah… God’s call on your life AIN’T going NOWHERE! (Lol! But I’m serious though, Cc: Rom. 11:29) … He believes in you! Even when we’re in our worst state, God sees our potential through His grace.
So, QUIT RUNNING! :-)
                                      
I pray you begin to embrace God’s presence as you walk in the fullness of God’s call on your life! I love you!!! 

Allison :-)
(originally posted January 26, 2012)

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