Jonah 1:3  But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. (NLT)

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An old song from my younger years says, “Run, run, run, run away.” It talks about the good kind of running away. It’s the kind of running away I plan to do with my bride in a few months, just the two of us. 

Jonah ran, ran, ran, ran away, but not in a good, good, good, good way. 

God said, “This is the way. Walk in it.” 

Jonah went the other way and ended up swimming in it.

“Wanna get away” is not merely a delightful ad campaign by Southwest Airlines. At one time or another, we all feel like want to run, run, run, run away.

Is today a Run Away Day? Or is today a Walk This Way Day?

This is an Every Day decision, isn’t it? 

The best outcomes flow from Walk This Way Days. 

Take it from Jonah: Don’t end up all wet. Don’t get burped out of the belly of a big fish. Don’t carry a bad attitude all the way to the end of the road. 

Jonah needed Psalm 139, and so do we. We can’t run away from God. We shouldn’t even try. Running to him and running with him is the only kind of running we should do. 

I’d kind of like to stay home today and reflect on our long weekend with dear loved ones. However, it’s Monday, and time to re-engage. It’s time to run, to run to God, and to run with God. 

Where will we run today? 

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I will run to God so that I can run with him at his pace and to whatever place suits his grace for this day.

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Our Father, empower me to stay in step with you today even though I feel like running in a different way. Lead me into the best outcomes. I don’t want to run away from you and end up all wet. Amen.