But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshis from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshis, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1:3

What happens when your plans and God’s plans aren’t the same?

Jonah didn’t like God’s plans for his life, so he decided to see how far away he could get from God’s presence. Let’s be honest. Nineveh was an exceedingly wicked city and was a prominent city of at least 120,000 people (Jonah 4:11). They worshipped many gods and placed their confidence in two main gods of love and war. So you can see how Jonah might have been a little reluctant to visit that large and evil city. Because they were exceedingly wicked, Jonah really wanted them to “get what they deserved!”

Verse 3 begins with the word, “BUT.” This is a transition word that points to a change in direction. How often does your story with the Lord include a “but?” Perhaps more often than you might think.

When we don’t like God’s plans, it’s sometimes because we want justice.

God wanted Jonah to cry out against Nineveh so that they might turn from their wickedness and turn towards Him. Jonah didn’t like those plans. He wanted Nineveh to suffer for their sinfulness. But Scripture never gives us an indication that Jonah prayed about the situation or sought wise counsel about God’s plans. He didn’t like God’s plans.

Like it or not, this is rebellion against God and His purposes and plan for Jonah’s life. You see, God has general plans for our lives, and they look like this:

And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” (Luke 10:27).

Broad overarching principles of loving God and loving others are great, but when God becomes more specific with us and shows us how that will practically work out, we sometimes try to walk away. How many of us approach God’s plans from a “me-centered” approach? Jonah did. I have. Have you? 

Could God have used someone other than Jonah? Certainly, but He wanted Jonah. And maybe this was more about Jonah than Nineveh. Have you ever thought that God’s specific plans for you might be to help you grow in your love towards Him and maybe even your love towards others?

When we don’t like God’s plans, choosing our own way is arrogant and prideful.

I’m reminded of the arrogance of Jonah to think that his way would be better than God’s way. 

But wait! Don’t be too hard on Jonah. Think about how many times we do the same thing. We might not physically hop a boat and think we can sail away from God’s presence, but we do promote our plans over God’s plans more often than we think. We “spiritually” hop a boat and sail away from God’s influence in our lives. And when we do, it usually turns out bad for us.

God calls us to live a humble life of obedience, but when we live arrogant and prideful lives, you can be sure that our downfall will quickly follow (Proverbs 16:18)

When we don’t like God’s plans, we sometimes think hiding will work.

Joppa was approximately 550 miles from Nineveh. Jonah decided to go to Tarshish, which was 2500 miles west of Nineveh. Could a person be farther away from Nineveh? 2500 miles? Can we really run so far away from God that He cannot find us? That, in itself, seems arrogant. I mean, can you really get away from God?

Jonah must have felt like everything was working out. A boat was in Joppa. He had the money to pay for a ticket. He hopped onto the boat and told those who were there that he was fleeing (Jonah 1:10). That’s the way I generally rationalize it. All the pieces fall in place and confirm my own ungodly decisions. It must be God’s will. NOT.

I think this was bold and arrogant for Jonah to alert his traveling companions that he was “fleeing from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:10). But there is no way to flee the presence of the Lord. Think about it.

Adam and Eve tried it in the Garden of Eden after they sinned against God’s specific plan for them. Do you remember? In Genesis 3:10, we learn that Adam “hid” from the Lord because he was “naked and afraid.” It sounds like Jonah, except for the naked part!

Jonah was afraid of God’s specific plans for Him and determined the best way to handle it was to go and hide. If there is one thing we should understand from this verse today is that regardless of our feelings about God’s plans for us, we cannot hide from His presence. So, we should probably not even try.

Maybe we even spend more time trying to get out of God’s will than we do just following God.

HIDING WON’T WORK!

What’s the point? The point is when we fail to include God in our plans, we tend to display arrogance and foolishness towards God. 

Let’s get real for a second. How often do you trust your own thoughts without consulting God and His thoughts? 

I want to encourage you to learn from Jonah. His thought process was incredibly “me-centered” and spiritually arrogant. 

Take time today to pray that you will understand God’s purpose in His plans for you and use it as a way to grow closer to Him.