Stop Running from God! Your Obedience Affects More Than You!

Ever felt like running from something you knew you were supposed to do? Yeah.. me too. 

Join the host, Avionna Elizabeth, as she unpacks the story of Jonah and explores what it teaches us about obedience, grace, repentance, and God’s relentless pursuit of His people. Whether you’re familiar with the story or hearing it for the first time, there’s something here for everyone in the 10th episode of One of Virtue Podcast.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, hello, everybody. We are back with yet another episode of Wonder Virtue Podcast. Y'all, it has been three weeks since y'all have seen just me here on the podcast, y'all. This series that we just completed, my husband and I, Beauty from Broken Vows, has definitely been, it was definitely something that the Lord called us to do. And honestly, listen, I know that the Lord is pleased, and I am just in complete awe of what the Lord has done in my life, in my marriage. And y'all, like I said, this is one of virtue podcasts. So the point is for you and I to become one of virtue together. We are in this together. We are walking this walk of faith together, and the Lord is carrying us as the Lord continues to prune and work on me. That is what I'm here for to share with you guys and just share these messages, share these testimonies, just whatever the Lord calls me to do, that's what I'm here to do. If it's in the Lord's will, then that means it's in mine. So I'm so ready to dive into today's episode. I really feel like this is gonna be one that helps a lot of people because just staying on theme of the point here. We are trying to become one of virtue, and more importantly, most importantly, we are trying to make it into heaven and not just make it into heaven, but hear well done, thy good and faithful servant. So, prayerfully, today's episode just snatches us right up out the hands of blatant disobedience and has us walking in our calling in full surrender to God. That is today's goal. So we are gonna jump right in, but before we do, we're gonna go ahead and open up in a prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord God, I thank you for today. I thank you for waking me up this morning. I thank you for waking up the listener on the other side of this podcast right now, Lord God. Lord, I thank you for your covering. I thank you for your grace, your mercy, your love, your provision, Lord God. Lord, I thank you for your Holy Spirit. I pray right now that your Holy Spirit just lead and guide me in everything that I say, do, and think here on this podcast, not just on the podcast, but in life in general, Lord God. But right now I just pray that your Holy Spirit just takes over. And whatever it is that you want to say on today's message, Lord God, I pray that it be said and let not one word that comes out of my mouth not be from your Holy Spirit, Lord God. This podcast I submit to you right now, Lord God. It belongs to you, not me, Lord God. I know that you are covering one of virtue podcasts, Lord God. I know right now you are covering each and every listener, Lord God. I pray that this episode be fruitful. I pray that your will be done in each listener's lives, Lord God. I pray for the heart and the mind and the soul of the listener right now, Lord God. I pray for softened hearts, a heart that is able to receive exactly what you are trying to say today, Lord God. Lord, I thank you again and I love you. And it is in your mighty and matched name that I pray. Amen. Okay, so let's dive in, y'all. Based on the title of today's episode and the fact that you're still sticking around, that means that this is probably something that you feel you may need to hear. And yeah, you probably do, friend. You probably do. So as you can see, today's title is Stop Running from God. Your obedience affects more than you. You've been feeling God tugging your heart for quite some time now. You know it's God, you know for a fact that it's God, and you know he's giving you a specific instruction, but you're afraid to do it, so you just haven't done it yet. So you haven't shared that testimony that he told you to share, you haven't applied for that job that he told you to apply for, you haven't reached out to that old friend because you're afraid that they're gonna reject you. You haven't stepped out on faith and you're leaning on your own understanding, you're afraid, but naturally I can say we are afraid sometimes, but that does not mean that we get an excuse to not be obedient, if that makes sense. We have to really, really understand that if God has called us to do something, he has already paved the way, he has already gone before us, he is partnering with us, he is in control of the situation if we allow him to be. We have to trust him. Listen, it is time to start running from your God-given purpose. It is time to start running from that God-given instruction and who God has truly called you to be, your identity in Christ. It's time to start running from that version of you. A little fun fact here: our yes, our obedience, our surrender, it does not just affect us. Our yes and our obedience literally could save the souls of so many just from our yes, just from our obedience, just from us walking in the calling that God has given us, that God has called us to do, literally. So, in addition to our Heavenly Father being pleased with us, which is a huge win, we get to play a very important role, like the most important role, which is getting souls saved, y'all, from total damnation. Like, we get to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father, and we get to be a part of somebody else's story and the reason why they made it into heaven, y'all. That is huge. That is huge. Our yes and our surrender is not just about us, it's not. And so, with that being said, y'all, I wanted to jump into a Bible story that a lot of people, I'm gonna say this, it's a very, very popular, very, very popular Bible story, but it's one that I feel people don't take literally, and I don't think that they believe that it actually happened, but more of like more of the fact that it's like more of like an allegory or a parable type of story. But I have always believed that this is a true story. A reason why I say that is because when I went to go do some research and I was looking for videos to watch on this particular Bible study, a lot of animation came up and it was like more catered to kids, and I was just like, Why is that? Like, yeah, I remember this story when I was a kid, and I remember like still to this day, like I I believe, I believe wholeheartedly that this actually happened, but I just remember watching it as a kid and it being you know catered to me as a kid, and I was just like, Why is that? You know, not that there weren't Bible studies or sermons on this particular story, but it would just seem like it was catered more to kids. So I'm like, okay, got it. So I did some research to see, like, you know, if people believed and you know, believed that this was a real story, and you know, people are it's like a toss-up for people with all of that rambling, y'all. The story that I'm talking about is the story of Jonah. And I know you're probably like, what is the correlation here? But we're gonna get into it. So we are gonna dive right in, and I'm gonna be kind of paraphrasing the story of Jonah, but also giving y'all some key points as we go along in this story. It's only four chapters, y'all. So just bear with me. It's a lot of nuggets here in the story of Jonah. I am gonna be reading from my notes here. So we're gonna start with God's command to Jonah. God called Jonah and commanded him to go to Nineveh and preach against the wickedness. Basically, God wanted Jonah to go and warn the city of Nineveh because they were extremely wicked, they were literally heading down a path of total and complete damnation. And God wanted his prophet Jonah to go and basically warn them like this is what y'all, this is what y'all are about to head into if y'all don't stop the foolishness that y'all have going on. Jonah refused and attempted to flee from God's presence by traveling to Tarshis instead of Nineveh. He went down to Jopa, found a ship, and paid the fare and boarded it. So he literally told God, and it's not funny, but he literally told God, absolutely not, and he ran the opposite direction and got on a ship that he was not supposed to get on. Now, before we get to judging Jonah, though he was wrong, y'all, this is exactly what we do. This is no different than what we do. Like I said earlier, that instruction that God told us to do five years ago, and we just refuse because we're afraid it doesn't matter, the because it doesn't matter. We are still acting in disobedience, y'all, and that is not good. God will literally give us a clear instruction, and instead of just following it, we decide to do our own thing. And y'all, if you have been following along here on this podcast, what is that? What is it when God has an instruction and we decide to do what we want to do? What's that? It's pride. Pride is anything that tries to exalt itself above the knowledge and the wisdom of God. Pride literally comes before a fall. That is why when we step outside of alignment with God, that's why stuff just starts going haywire because pride comes before a fall and we do not know better than God. Why are we telling him no? Why are we telling him no? Who are we to say no? He created us, he's all-knowing, he's infinite, he's all-knowing, he's omnipotent, he's omniscient, he's sovereign. We don't know more than him. We don't even know a sliver of what he knows at all. He knows what's best for us. And listen, obedience is better than sacrifice. So, okay, let's keep going with the story here. The Lord sent a great wind upon the sea. So Jonah is on the ship now. The Lord sent a great wind upon the sea, producing a violent storm that threatened the ship. The sailors became afraid, cried out to their gods, and threw cargo into the sea. So they didn't know what was going on. They started crying out to their gods, like pleading, like what is going on. They're throwing out cargo. They just they were stressed. Jonah had them stressed, but at this point they didn't know that it was Jonah's fault that all of this was happening to them. So while all of this is going on, Jonah is on the below deck, knocked out, sleep. The captain of the ship found Jonah and told Jonah to cry out to his god. The sailors cast lots to determine who was responsible for the disaster, and the lot fell on Jonah. So it was clear that what was happening was because of Jonah. Jonah identified himself as a Hebrew who worshiped the Lord, the creator of the sea and dry land, and admitted that he was fleeing from God. Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the sea to stop the storm. The sailors first attempted to roll back to the land, but could not because the storm intensified. After praying for mercy, they threw Jonah overboard. Immediately the sea became calm. The sailors feared the Lord greatly and offered sacrifices and vows. So, y'all, basically, Jonah so desperately did not want to go to the city of Nineveh. He really felt like they did not deserve a second chance at life. He so desperately did not want to go that he boarded this ship and basically became this accursed being that brought calamity for not just himself but for those around him. And y'all, does that not sound familiar? Jonah boarded that ship and all of this calamity just broke loose. That is exactly what happens in our lives. When we are outside of the will of God, we are walking outside of our God-given purpose. It's gonna be chaos. It's chaos outside of God's will and outside of what God has called us to do. And it's crazy because it doesn't just affect us, it affects those around us as well. We have to be mindful of what we're doing. We be knowing when we're not in alignment with God. And like Jonah, we be sleep. I'm sitting here like Jonah. How are you sitting here sleep in the midst of a raging storm? When you think about it figuratively, that is what we do. We are literally in the midst of chaos, chaos that we created, mind you. We're sleep. Why are we living our lives like that? Why? Like Jonah, we always try to flee, but God is just right there, just trying to tug on our heart, y'all. He just wants us. He wants us. As we see, Jonah tried to flee from God and his instruction, but there literally is no running from God. Psalms 139, 7, NIV version says, Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? There's nowhere we can hide, y'all. God sees us again. He's all seeing, he's all knowing, he's all powerful. He literally sees us in the midst of our mess. He sees when we're being disobedient. He knows our every thought. He knows our every action. There is no running, there is no fleeing. So why do we try? Why do we try? You gotta stop running. Go ahead and give God your yes. Go ahead and give God your yes. So God appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah remained in the fish three days and three nights. From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to God, acknowledging God's deliverance and mercy. Jonah expressed gratitude and renewed commitment to fulfill his vows. God commanded the fish, and the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land. Okay, wait. Did anybody catch that foreshadowing of Jesus? Did anybody catch that? Let me tell y'all, I did some quick digging, and sure enough, in Matthew 12, 40, Jesus says, Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of a big fish. The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the grave, also. I know we're talking about Jonah right now, but I cannot skip over a foreshadowing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Like, and honestly, y'all, that's to the point I was making way earlier about how people kind of believe the story of Jonah is not an actual story, but more of like an allegory or a parable. Now I know for sure, which I knew for sure, but I feel like this is proof that this story is a legit story because Jesus spoke on it. He didn't speak on it in a parable type of way, but he spoke on it as factual history, like a historical event that happened. And it, I mean, it was literally a foreshadowing of Jesus. So that is that is that is so cool to me. That is so cool to me. Okay, so God appointed a big fish to swallow Jonah for three days and three nights. After Jonah prayed and renewed his commitment to God and his instruction, the Lord commanded the fish to spit Jonah out into dry land, and it did. Though it does not explicitly say that Jonah repented, I believe that because of how he prayed, which y'all can go and you know, like I said, I'm paraphrasing. So definitely y'all go and make sure y'all read the whole book of Jonah so y'all can kind of follow along with what I'm saying. But basically, you know, the type of prayer that he did and the fact that God responded to the prayer, I do believe that God was pleased with the prayer that he said simply because of how God responded. And I believe that Jonah's heart posture was where God needed it to be so that God can move. And I do believe, with that being said, I do believe he did repent. It just doesn't explicitly say, but because of how God moved, and we know how God is when it comes to the renewing of the mind, renewing of your heart, and just changing those actions. I believe that Jonah did repent. I believe that Jonah's heart posture was one of repentance. Repentance is a turning away of sins and it's the returning to a faithful relationship with God. That is essentially what Jonah did. So something that stood out to me here is you know, this just goes to show how ready and how willing God really is to accept us back into his arms, into his grace, into his mercy, and how much he really loves us, and you know, he doesn't like having to discipline us, he doesn't like having to take his hands off of us, he doesn't like not being who he is to his children, you know what I mean? Like he he literally just wants what's best for us. So even down to the things that he doesn't want us to do, the things that are detestable to him, the commandments, all of that, y'all. It's literally all to protect us. It's not because he wants to be mean, it's not because he doesn't want us to have fun. He literally knows the trouble that the things that he tells us to do, he knows the trouble behind it. He doesn't want his children going through those things. That's why he gives us, that's why he gives us this here, the Bible. He wants us to follow his word, he wants us to be in close relationship with him because he knows what's best. Literally, y'all, he literally knows what's best for us. We have to follow him, we have to follow him. We don't know better than him. And honestly, like I said, y'all, when we step outside of this right here, his word, his will, his way, that's when all this foolishness starts to take place. So we're gonna continue on. God again commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and proclaim his message. Jonah obeyed and traveled to Nineveh. Jonah proclaimed that Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days. Y'all check this out. Basically, Nineveh instantly believed the word of the Lord, and from the greatest to the least, they humbled themselves in repentance. The king arose from his throne, removed his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. The king declared that everyone should fast and cry out earnestly to God. The people were instructed to turn from violence and their evil ways. The king hoped that God would relent and withhold judgment. So, y'all listen. This was crazy. This is basically exactly what happened is what Jonah was afraid of to begin with. He did not feel like the people of Nineveh deserved a second chance. And basically, he went, he did what he was told to do, and the entire Nineveh, it says from the greatest to the least, they all repented, y'all. They all repented. That is incredible to me because a lot of the times, y'all, we do not jump like that when we are warned. Like a lot of people, it takes a lot longer. And you know, I'm I'm just I'm just so in awe at the people of Nineveh here because it's like they knew the depths of how wicked they were, and literally got a word from the Lord and repented immediately. That is amazing to me because that is exactly how it should be for us. Our hearts should be in a position to receive what people are telling us, especially if it's for our good. And you can tell, you can tell when it's coming directly from the Lord and from the Holy Spirit, which is why they turned so quickly. They knew they knew what they were doing. They knew what they were doing, they got the warning, they repented. No questions asked, like from the greatest to the least, the king included. That is exactly where we should be. Now we're gonna talk about God's mercy. God saw their repentance and that they turned from evil. God relented from the announced destruction. Jonah became greatly displeased and angry because Nineveh was spared. Jonah admitted that he had anticipated God's mercy and that this was one reason he fled. Jonah described God as gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. So, y'all, again, this just goes to show again how quickly God wants to rescue us out of our mess. How quickly he is ready to give us grace and mercy if we just turn to him. Amazing, amazing, and we are so undeserving. But that is that is the God that we serve. That is the God that we serve, y'all. His ways are truly greater than our ways, and his thoughts are truly greater than our thoughts. His word tells us that his plans are to prosper us and not to harm us. So all of these different outcomes and different circumstances in our lives are byproducts on whether or not if we are walking in the will of God, if we are walking in alignment with the Holy Spirit. So now Jonah is angry with God, he's throwing a fit because he really did not believe that the people of Nineveh deserved to be saved. He felt like they did not deserve God's grace, God's mercy, and God's love. As we can see, even the evil, wicked people of Nineveh were worth being saved by God in God's eyes. God loved them too. Just as much as he loved Jonah, just as much as he loves the next person, y'all. He loves all of us. And so this makes me want to pose the question in what way or ways is the enemy trying to tell you that you are not worthy of God's love, his grace, and his mercy? What is he trying to convince you of that you've done that is just too far? You are not worthy to be saved, that you have to continue to hide yourself from God, like you are just unclean, you are dirty, you are filthy, God wants nothing to do with you, He wants no part. What is the enemy trying to tell you? I am here to tell you right now that there's no such thing at all. When I tell you there is no such thing outside of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, there is no sin, no iniquity, no blemish, no scar, no filth that the blood of Jesus does not cover. That is what he sent his son here to do so that we can be saved, y'all, so that we can be back with God the way that he intended, if we choose him. If you guys have watched and or listened to Beauty from Broken Vows, when I tell you, the enemy tried to make us feel like we've gone too far and look where we are today, married seven years later. After all of that, after all of that, y'all, after all of that, there is literally nothing, not one thing that God cannot redeem, that God cannot heal. There's not one person. So yes, I'm talking to you, adulterer. So yes, I'm talking to you, thief. So yes, I'm talking to you, liar. So yes, I'm talking to you. I am literally talking to every single person, y'all. There's not one person that God is not waiting on your yes. He is not there's not one person that God is not waiting on your full surrender. It does not matter what you did, it does not matter, y'all. He can save you from it if you give him your yes. All throughout his word, it shows us just how ready and willing he is to save us if we say yes. So the last part of the story, Jonah went outside the city and waited to see what would happen. God appointed a plant to provide shade for Jonah. Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, causing it to wither. God sent a scorching east wind and blazing sun upon Jonah. Jonah became distressed and lamented the loss of the plant. God pointed out that Jonah cared deeply about a plant that he had neither made nor nurtured. God contrasted Jonah's concern for the plant with his concern for Nineveh and its many inhabitants and animals. So, what first stood out to me here is just how gracious and how patient God has been with Jonah throughout this entire story. Even after God delivering Nineveh, and Jonah's resentment, bitterness, lack of forgiveness, judgment, God was still continuing to show Jonah grace and mercy. Even in all of Jonah's fits that he was having, you know, God provides this plant for Jonah. Jonah is very appreciative of this plant. God then sends a worm to attack the plant, and that of course causes the plant to wither, making it incapable of providing that same shade that it was doing before. God then sends a scorching wind, and the sun is just beating down on Jonah's head. He's hot, he has no more shade. Y'all know how it is. We're in the summertime. He was getting beat down by the sun, basically. Jonah then becomes distressed and saddened at the fact that he no longer has this plant to protect him from the hot sun, the hot winds. He's stressed out. In distress at the loss of this plant, yeah, y'all, God is so intentional. He then uses this situation as a learning lesson for Jonah. He shows Jonah just how easy it was for him to care about a plant that he did not nurture, that he did not create, that was just something that was provided for for him, right? And basically, God poses the question you know, if you care about this plant the way that you do and you didn't create it nor nurture it, how much more do you think I love 120,000 people that I created, that I nurtured, that I had plans for, that I had good intentions for? How much more do you think I care about them? Now we don't get Jonah's answer. Kind of just the the book just kind of ends there. But God created these people and He wanted them saved. 120,000 people. 120,000 people, y'all were saved because of Jonah's yes. Now we we took a long time and some stubbornness, some unforgiveness, some judgment, some bitterness. It took us a while to get there, but because of Jonah's yes, because of Jonah finally saying yes, 120,000 people were led to repentance because of a yes, because of a yes to God. Y'all, that's crazy. I know I really didn't speak on what the people in Nineveh were doing, um, and I'm not going to simply because I do not want to have to make this episode explicit just to tell y'all what the people of Nineveh were doing and partaking in, but it was some, it was some it was some crazy work, it was some nasty work. If y'all want to look it up, you can. I'm just not about to say all of what they were doing, but just know it was it was horrible, and even those people, God wanted to save, and he did. He did through Jonah's yes. Jonah went, spoke what God told him to speak, and it led a hundred and twenty thousand people into repentance. So, with that being said, y'all, with that being said, you are worth saving. Repent, give God your yes, because your yes does not just affect you. Your yes is gonna greatly benefit you, but it does not just affect you. Your yes could literally also be linked to 120,000, 300,000, 400,000, 800,000, a million souls being saved. Give God your yes, y'all. Give God your yes. So, really quick before we end this episode, I'm gonna give y'all some key points really quick. For one, nobody can escape God's presence. Two, genuine repentance leads to grace and mercy. Three, God's compassion extends beyond one nation or one group. So, not just the people that are all good and you know, they just are all sparkly and nice and clean, but God's grace extends to the filthy one, the the dirty one, the liar, the cheater, the thief, the robber, the murderer. Okay, all of that. It extends to all people. All people. The next one, God's concern includes people whom others regard as enemies. So Jonah was like, you know, hey, these people are my enemies. God said, Who cares? Who cares? You gotta get over yourself, but those are my people and I want them saved. I love them, I care for them. I'm gonna save them through their repentance. I'm gonna save them. So, yeah, your enemies, no, they're they're also worthy of being saved too. Yeah. So that means if you are somebody like Jonah and God is telling you a specific instruction and it has something to do with your enemies, as you can see, you need to do that. You need to give God your yes. It doesn't matter if it's your enemy, God don't care about that. He don't care about that. Do what he told you to do. The next one, obedience is important, but so is showing God's grace and God's mercy. So again, just softening your heart, not looking at people like they are not worth being loved or mercy being extended to them or grace being extended to them. But basically just sharing the heart of Christ, like truly carrying the heart of Christ, truly embodying the heart of God, the heart of Christ. And the last one is God values human life and desires repentance rather than destruction. God is always preferring what's best for us. He does not want to punish us, he does not want destruction in our lives, he does not want calamity, he does not want chaos for our lives. He is always in a position of wanting his children safe, saved, loved, cared for, in peace and bliss. Like his will, his will is literally perfect. His will is literally perfect, y'all. All we have to do is walk into alignment with him and give him our yes. And y'all, listen, that's all I have for today's episode. I really pray, I really, really pray that this message touched your heart. I pray that it really leaves you in a place of just full surrender, full surrender, repentance, and just fully being able to walk in the calling and the purpose that God has placed upon your life. I really pray that this touched your heart, your mind, your body, your spirit, and that you just give God your yes today. I think that this is a perfect place for me to go ahead and end the episode, like I always do, and offer you guys a prayer of repentance and salvation. If you're watching this on YouTube, I'm gonna put the prayer on the screen. And then if you're listening, I'm gonna be saying the prayer and you guys can repeat after me. So if you're deciding to give your life to Christ today, let's go ahead and say this prayer. So, dear Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in desperate need of a savior. I believe what your word says in John 3.16. And Lord, I thank you for loving me this much. I repent right now for my sins and for breaking your laws. I genuinely ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is your son, who has died on the cross for my sins. I believe that he rose on the third day for my victory. I now declare and receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. May the blood of Jesus speak on my behalf from this day forward. Thank you for seeking after me and accepting me into your kingdom. Amen. Episode 10 in the bag. I really pray that this episode has touched you. I'm so excited for you. There's so much greatness on the other side of life when you decide to submit your life to Christ and walk in his will, and his purpose, and his way for your life. And I pray that this week is an awesome week for you, and that God just really began to show up and show out because you gave him your yes. Love you guys, and I will see y'all in the next episode. Bye, guys.