Instead of going to Nineveh to preach God's Word as he was commanded, Jonah despised the work and went down to Joppa to escape. There are times when God's servants shrink from their duty. But what happens then? What did Jonah lose by running?

First, he lost the presence and comfortable enjoyment of God's love. When we serve the Lord Jesus as believers should, our God is with us. And though the whole world may stand against us, if God is with us, what does it matter? But the moment we turn back and seek our own inventions, we are at sea without a pilot. Then we cry out in bitter anguish: "O my God, where have you gone? How could I have been such a fool as to shun your service and lose the bright shining of your face? This price is too high! Let me return to my allegiance, that I may rejoice in your presence."

Second, Jonah lost all peace of mind. Sin destroys a believer's comfort swiftly. It is the poisonous upas tree, from whose leaves drip deadly drops that destroy all joy and peace. Jonah lost everything he might have drawn on for comfort. He could not plead God's promise of protection—he was not in God's ways! He could not say, "Lord, I meet these difficulties while doing your work, therefore help me through them." No—he was reaping his own deeds. He was filled with his own ways.

Christian, do not play the Jonah unless you wish to have all the waves and the billows rolling over your head! You will find in the long run that it is far harder to shun the work and will of God than to at once yield yourself to it. Jonah lost his time, for he had to go to Nineveh after all. It is hard to contend with God; let us yield ourselves at once.