Yesterday evening as I was walking on the treadmill and watching t.v., I discovered that one of my favorite pastors of all time, Dr. Tony Evans, was on The Church Channel. I had no idea they broadcast him, and let me tell you, if you've not heard him, you need to. He is a wonderful teacher of God's Word and has a remarkable way of bringing application to his sermons. He's a preacha- teacha man! I love him! Anyways, he was preaching out of Jonah, and some of his thoughts resonated inside my spirit. We all have "Ninevehs" in our lives. We try to run from God's providence to a safer place - any place really where God is not glorified. Jonah wanted to live outside the Will of God. He knew it was wrong, but he didn't care that he wasn't fearing the Lord. He went 3,500 miles out of his way just to run away from God. His hypocrisy was evident; how can he fear the Lord but not live in His good and perfect will? How can we do this?
Tony was saying that when we, as believers in the Lord, choose to run from God's will, we also bring others in our vicinity into the storm. Did you ever stop to think that the way you live impacts those around you even if you don't want it to? We impact people for good or evil. It is our choice, and God does allow us to make choices. We would live very differently if we truly believed our sin destroys others as well as ourselves. If you're a parent, what you say and do and how you say and do it, drives deeply into your child's/children's hearts. I see this already with Isaac. I cannot make his decisions for him, but I certainly have a great amount of influence on his life. I urge us all today to stay in the Will of God, and if we are sprinting from Him, to sprint back to Him. Don't be deceived by this world, your flesh, or the devil. God's Will is a safe zone in a dangerous sort of way. But, I'd rather be there than riding the waves of a storm on my own power.
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