When God calls you to perform a duty, do you find yourself running toward him or running from him?

Well, the prophet Jonah ran away. And his epic failure became one of the Bible's most unforgettable stories.

This isn't your typical Sunday school tale about a man and a big fish.

The Book of Jonah contains an honest look at what happens when we fight against God's will.

Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindall reveals how Jonah's rebellion reflects our own. Through his mistakes,

we'll discover four powerful truths that could transform our relationship with God forever.

We've been spending our time through these several messages through these 48 verses,

and we have carefully allowed the scriptures to speak for themselves that we might learn from them.

I see these lessons as being backdoor deliveries in the book of Jonah.

Chapter one seems to teach us this.

Any attempt to escape from the Lord is an act of futility.

Jonah's attempt was amazing.

Soon as he heard, go to Nineveh,

he made plans to go to Tarshish, opposite direction.

His escape was immediate, not delayed.

It was brash, not subtle. It was deliberate, not subtle it was deliberate not uncertain he knew exactly what he was doing

i'm out of here any attempt to escape from the lord is an act of futility so jota ran wound up in the

belly of the fish and and of all places, it is the one spot where Jonah, at least for a few moments, did something right.

He called on God, of all places, out of the innards of this fish.

So here's the lesson I get from chapter two.

Any time and any place we call on the Lord

is an acceptable time and place.

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