Nineveh was a wicked, wicked city full of people who were known for their cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12-13), evil plots against God (Nahum 1:9), and exploitation of the weak (Nahum 2:12)…and Jonah hated them.

Have you ever hated someone or a group of people so much you didn’t even want to tell them about God for fear they would repent and be forgiven for all their evil acts? Jonah did.

His hatred for the Ninevehites was so fierce that he willingly disobeyed God. When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah turned and went in the opposite direction. He willfully and deliberately disobeyed God.

And I have too…many times.

Instead of allowing God to be the judge, I’ve put myself in that position, handing out mercy and dishing out guilty sentences in my mind and heart without regard to what God might think.

I falsely equate my will as His will and thereby state that my will is more important than His.

So I go my own way…many times in the exact opposite direction God is calling me to travel, just like Jonah.

And yet even in my defiance, God pursues me.

Where can I go that God is not already there?

Friends, one important lesson we can learn from our reading this week is this: we can never hide from God. Adam and Eve tried to do it in the Garden of Eden and Jonah tried to hide by getting on a boat heading to Tarshish. God knew exactly where each of them was hiding and what was hiding in their hearts as well.

What is God calling you to do today that has you running in the opposite direction? Are you in a battle of whose will is stronger, yours or God’s? Has He pressed it upon your heart to reach out in love to a certain group of people and you find yourself unwilling to do so?

Like Jonah, you can not flee from God. If you travel to the highest mountains, He is there. If you scuba dive to the deepest parts of our oceans, God is there as well. There is nowhere you can go that God is not already there with you.

So let’s stop running, sailing, or heading in the opposite direction of His commands.

Let’s stop choosing our wills over His because the truth of the matter is, His will always trumps ours.

Let’s strive to be women who flee to God rather than away from Him.

When God says “go” let’s go! Let’s not delay our obedience, ponder if people are truly worth helping or allow society’s prejudices to hinder us from reaching and helping the people God is calling us to.

God has more for them and us on this amazing journey He has called us to!

Let’s Talk: Introduce yourself today and let us know where you are joining us from!!! We’d love to meet you! 

Love God Greatly!

Week 1 Challenge: Let’s start this study out in prayer. Ask God to reveal to you any defiance you are harboring in your heart to any calls of “go” He is giving you. Don’t let fear or sin keep you from obeying God’s call on your life!

Reading Plan:

Memory Verse:

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Angela Perritt

Angela Perritt is the founder and director of LoveGodGreatly.com, a nonprofit online Bible study ministry reaching thousands of women in over two hundred countries around the world with God’s Word through their translated Bible studies. She and her husband live in Dallas, Texas with their three daughters. Angela is passionate about God’s Word and believes one woman in God’s Word can change a family, community and ultimately a nation. Her greatest joy is to encourage her children and others to love God greatly with their lives one day at a time. You can connect with her on Instagram.