Why Didn’t You Answer? December 9, 2015

Read Mark 1:16-20

Jonah 1:3      But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

Psalm 139:7     Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Jeremiah 20:9     But if I say, "I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Jonah 1:10     This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

Jonah 4:2     He prayed to the LORD, "Isn't this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Sometimes when our son was playing in his sandbox he would act as if he hadn’t heard when his mother called him. One time she asked him, “Why didn’t you answer me?” With remarkable honesty he replied, “I thought if I pretended I couldn’t hear you, then you might leave me alone.”

Many times we treat God in the same way. God has called us, yet often we pretend not to hear. We ignore the Spirit who is nudging us in a certain direction through scripture, or we turn away when we sense the urge to speak to someone or offer a helping hand to a stranger. We are God’s creation, yet God has given us the freedom to choose to turn away from opportunities to serve.

For years, out of fear or busyness, I made the choice to turn away. But turning away left a separation between God and me. Something was missing, and life felt incomplete. I finally realized that I could draw close to God by responding to the nudges and calls. The first few times were scary. But I followed God’s leading and now give thanks for the blessings this has brought me. Relationship with God brings a whole new dimension of fullness to life. Hobbies, leisure activities, and even work tasks take on new meaning and joy when we do them to praise God.