One of the sayings of the day is, "Just get away from it all." Normally some vacation spot is trying to entice us to come and pay them a visit. On occasion it is good to get away, but sadly some try to get away from God.
Jonah perhaps serves as the greatest example to be found of one who tried to "get away from God." You recall God had a message for Jonah to deliver to the people of Nineveh, he was to "cry out against their wickedness" (Jonah 1:2). Instead of doing what God wanted, Jonah chose to ignore God. His trip to get away did not work out like he had planned; instead he got to see what a "big fish" looks like from the inside out. It took something terrible happening for him to realize he could not ignore God.
Some today act just like Jonah. It is popular in some circles not to even believe in God. David wrote, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God (Psalm 14:1). They reject the evidence they see each day and choose to believe a theory of how man evolved from an ape. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). Others try to get away from God by refusing to obey His word. God’s word has been given to man that we might come to understand God’s love and God’s terms for forgiveness. James wrote, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). Those who refuse to listen and obey God now will find one day that God will not listen to them. "Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zech. 7:13). Luke tells of one who ignored God during his lifetime and realized too late what he had done. "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence" (Luke 16:23-26).God’s word cannot be ignored. Each person one day will give an accounting. On that day it will be too late to change what we have done. Our destiny is eternity is set by what we do here and now.
Jonah realized his mistake and was given opportunity to change. Why not take the time to study God’s word, believe it and obey it. God has blessed you with the opportunity to follow Him.
You may ignore Him today if that is your desire, but one day you will plainly see, "you cannot get away from God".