Would You Refuse God?
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
‘Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and cry out against it,
for their wickedness has come up before me.’
But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish,
so he paid the fare, and went down into it
to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”
Jonah 1:2-3
What motivated Jonah, a believer and a prophet, to run from the commission God gave him?
Nineveh was wicked through and through, a cruel and violent people, and Nineveh was a hated enemy of Israel. Because of this deep hatred, the very thought of speaking to them for the Lord was unbearable to Jonah, and he wanted to get as far away from this commission as he could, so he fled. He found a boat and he got on it to take him as far away as possible.
In his panic and rebellion, Jonah wasn’t mindful of the fact that no matter where he fled, God would reach him. As King David wrote:
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, you are there,
if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.”
Psalm 139:7-10
Do you have an enemy so hated that you would refuse to speak to them or minister to them if God told you to? Is there any matter the Lord could bring up to you that you’d try to escape from? Is there someone in sin so repulsive to you that you recoil at the very idea of being in their presence?
If so, that reveals a deep misunderstanding of the ways of God. It reveals a deep lack of respect for him on your part, and a lack of understanding of his integrity. Could God be wrong? Could God speak to your heart to do something that you really don’t want to do - without a purpose in it?
God is wisdom, he does nothing without purpose. You can trust his integrity without a doubt, for he is worthy of that trust. If he speaks something hard to you, something seemingly impossible, he has a definite purpose in it. You can trust him. And you refuse him at your own peril.
If you are running from God and are under conviction, ASK for grace and strength and help to SURRENDER to him. He will give you that grace, he will give you that strength if you humble yourself before him, confess your inability, and ASK.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
Don’t run from God. Running from God will never result in your good - and like Jonah, it could bring you to destruction. Surrender to him and you’ll find that his ways are perfect and his love trustworthy. Trust him therefore.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
P—thank you for writing this. I can feel the weight of conviction in it, and the sincerity of your call to trust God even when what He asks feels difficult or uncomfortable. That’s not a small thing to name, and I respect the clarity and courage in how you said it.
As I read, though, I found myself lingering in Jonah a bit longer.
Because what strikes me is not just that Jonah refused—but why.
It doesn’t seem like he misunderstood God.
It seems like he understood Him too well.
He knew God was merciful.
He knew Nineveh might be spared.
And something in him could not bear the thought of mercy being extended to people he believed did not deserve it.
That tension feels important.
Not as an excuse for Jonah—but as a window into something very human:
What happens when God’s mercy collides with our sense of justice?
I wonder if, at times, what looks like “refusal” on the surface is actually a deeper wrestling underneath:
wrestling with pain
wrestling with what feels right or fair
wrestling with wounds we may not even fully see
And I think Scripture gives us space for that wrestling.
The Psalms are full of it.
Job lives in it.
Even Jonah himself eventually argues with God.
So I find myself asking—not as a pushback, but out of curiosity:
Is obedience always the absence of resistance?
Or can it sometimes include bringing our full, honest tension into the presence of God?
Because the invitation I keep seeing is not just:
“Obey me.”
But also:
“Come, let me know you—even here.”
I agree with you that God is trustworthy, and that surrender matters deeply.
I just wonder if, sometimes, surrender doesn’t begin with silencing our resistance—but with bringing it honestly into relationship.
Appreciate you sharing this—it stirred something real in me.