Trying to Outrun a Hurricane

Last week I referred to a recent trip I had taken. I was actually in Arkansas as Hurricane Ida hit the gulf coast. I had planned to head home on Monday morning, but decided to move up my departure time by several hours in order to try to stay ahead of the rains and winds from that storm as it progressed further inland. Thankfully I only encountered a few sprinkles in northern Mississippi. After I arrived home, I checked the weather radar to find that part of my travel route was then inundated with rain.

In another sense today it sometimes feels like we’re trying to outrun a hurricane. We’re living in a time when ungodliness is abounding and God’s Word is being ignored or rejected. The consequences of our poor choices, if not God’s judgment, seem to be bearing down on our world. We’re facing various “storms” as we follow our own course in life rather than God’s way.

It reminds me of Jonah and his situation. First of all, this prophet refused to obey God and thought he could run away from His presence. Some people today seem to think they can choose to disobey God and not face the consequences. They try to avoid Him, run away from Him, and think they can somehow outrun His judgment. However, sooner or later, in this life or afterwards, they’re going to find themselves having to give an account of their actions before God.

 Other people are similar to Jonah while he was on the boat. He was sleeping in the lower quarters of that vessel while a violent divinely-sent storm was blowing. In the midst of all the upheavals our world is experiencing these days, a surprising number of people are sleeping right through it. They may be aware that our world is being rocked by some of what is going on, but they’re blind as to the cause and complacent about doing what needs to be done about it. They’re unwilling to face the reality of their own disobedience to God or of our world’s ungodliness. Too many are snoozing spiritually when they should be taking urgent action.

Others are like the crew on Jonah’s boat. They were crying out to their various gods, throwing cargo overboard, and busily doing whatever they could to try to save their vessel from sinking. Many today are trying to tackle our storms strictly by means of their own efforts. Some are relying on their gods of science or politics to solve the problems. Others are willing to look to virtually any source for answers, except to the God of the Bible.

We can’t outrun the consequences of our sin. An ungodly society can’t avoid the condemnation of a holy God. We’ve got to get to the place where Jonah ended up – not necessarily in the belly of a fish, but wherever we need to get to that finally causes us to humble ourselves in submission to God. It was only after Jonah found himself in the fish’s belly that he “remembered the Lord” and lifted up a prayer of surrender to His will (see Jonah 2).

Likewise, we need to let the storms in our lives today bring us to the place where we’re willing to turn to God, acknowledge His Word, and do what He says. We can’t outrun the storms. They’re only going to get worse unless we turn away from our disobedience and start following the Lord.

I may have avoided a hurricane, but we can’t escape the consequences of disobeying God. While others may be facing these storms by running away, sleeping, or fighting in their own strength, let’s humble ourselves before God and commit to doing His will.