Do Hard Things: Embracing God's Challenging Call

Have you ever found yourself face-to-face with a challenge that made your heart race and your palms sweat? Maybe it was a daunting task that God placed before you. We often find it easy to talk about doing big things for God, but when the moment of truth arrives, our response might surprise us.

The story of Jonah provides a powerful illustration of this human tendency. Jonah, a prophet dedicated to speaking God's words, received a clear directive from the Lord: "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are." (Jonah 1:2)

Surprisingly, Jonah's immediate response was to run in the opposite direction. He boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, 2,500 miles away from his divine assignment. Why would a prophet, someone intimately connected with God's will, choose to flee?

The answer lies in the nature of God's request. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, Israel's greatest enemy. The Assyrians were known for their brutality and were considered the terrorists of the ancient world. God was asking Jonah to walk into the heart of enemy territory and deliver a message of judgment. It's no wonder Jonah hesitated.

This scenario reveals a universal truth: we often run when we feel at risk. It's challenging to move forward with God when we disagree with His decisions or when His call conflicts with our comfort zone. Like Jonah, we may find ourselves creating conditional obedience, willing to follow God in some areas but drawing the line when it comes to our money, secret habits, jobs, or relationships.

However, running from God's call invariably leads to regret. As Jonah discovered when a violent storm threatened to break apart his escape vessel, "When you run from God, you run towards danger." Our attempts to protect ourselves or maintain our comfortable lifestyle often backfire, leading us into stormy situations we never anticipated.

The story of Jonah serves as a cautionary tale, inviting us to examine our own lives. Are there areas where we're sprinting in the opposite direction of God's will? Have we created pockets of conditional obedience, giving God access to some aspects of our lives but not others?

The good news is that while we can run, we can't outrun God. His patient persistence follows us even when we don't deserve a second chance. Throughout Scripture, we see examples of individuals who tried to do things their own way - Abraham taking shortcuts, David pursuing momentary pleasures, Peter denying Jesus out of fear. Yet in each case, God's extraordinary redemption shines through when they repented of their running.

Perhaps you're weary of running but still worried about the risk of full surrender to God. It's a common fear, but often the very things we think will end our lives as we know them become the starting point of a new, unanticipated journey.

Consider the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. This tiny, ground-dwelling insect undergoes a radical transformation, literally dissolving its old self to emerge as something entirely new and beautiful. What if the caterpillar could refuse this process out of fear or discomfort? It would miss out on the beauty of becoming a butterfly because it was more comfortable remaining a caterpillar.

Similarly, it's illogical for us to run from who God has called us to be and what He's called us to do simply because we don't understand it all. The path forward might involve stepping away from the wrong things - perhaps a relationship, a career decision, or a financial habit that's leading us away from God's best. Or it might mean stepping towards a difficult but right thing - a necessary change, an uncomfortable conversation, or sharing our faith with someone we've been avoiding.

The time has come to stop the running that results in regret and instead embrace the redemption God offers. No matter how far we've run, we haven't outrun God. He's still there, arms open wide, ready to transform our lives in ways we can't even imagine.

As we reflect on these truths, let's challenge ourselves to identify areas where we might be running from God's call. Are there hard things He's asking us to do that we've been avoiding? Can we trust that His plans, though challenging, are ultimately for our good and His glory?

Remember, it's in those moments of obedience, when we choose to do the hard things God asks of us, that we often experience the most profound growth and witness the most incredible miracles. Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, we too can emerge from our seasons of transformation as new creations, ready to soar to heights we never thought possible.

Today, let's make the courageous choice to stop running and instead run towards God, embracing whatever challenges He places before us. In doing so, we open ourselves up to a life of adventure, purpose, and deep fulfillment that can only come from walking in step with our Creator.