Escape vs. Acceptance

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
And going down to Joppa, he found a ship going to Tarshish;
So he paid his fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

(Jonah 1:3 – ACF)

Precisely because he was not entirely obedient to God's call to take his message to the Ninevites, one of the most remembered prophets of the Old Testament has this memory among God's people: Jonah, as an Israelite, had no sympathy whatsoever for the people of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
The Assyrian empire at the time was known for its extreme cruelty, having even invented impalement—the act of inserting a stake into a person's abdomen or anus and then placing them in an upright position, causing a slow and painful death—which became world-famous because of Vlad Tepes, who used to impale his prisoners of war and served as inspiration for Bram Stoker in the creation of the terrifying Count Dracula.

Given this, Jonah did not desire the repentance and conversion of the Ninevites; rather, he pleaded for divine judgment upon that people (and this is made explicit in the last chapter of the book). Knowing, however, that God was merciful and would not punish the city if they repented, he tried to do the impossible: to flee from God's presence.
The story is well known, and I don't think it's necessary to go into detail about it, but what I want to highlight in this reflection is Jonah's childish attempt, believing that he could escape God's presence.
Another famous prophet—in this case, Jeremiah—interestingly mentioned the impossibility of such an attitude, recounting a vision in which God tells him:

Am I only a God nearby, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? declares the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 23:23-24 – ACF)

There is no way to know if God said such a thing to Jeremiah in reference to the case of Jonah, who had died about a century earlier, but this truth is absolute and immutable.
David was another who recognized that there is no hiding from the presence of the Lord, writing:

You have hemmed me in behind and before, and laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,” then the light around me will be night.
Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

(Psalm 139:5-12 – ACF)

The fact is that there is no limitation to divine power, And trying to hide from him is a completely childish attitude.
Although it serves as a warning against a sinful life—reminding everyone that it is impossible to hide their failings from God's omniscience—it can also be a source of profound joy for the sincere Christian.
A devotional passage from an old book of reflections called "Lift Up Your Life" tells the story of a boy who, attending Bible school and becoming aware that nothing can be hidden from God, expressed his fear of being punished to his teacher, because God was never inattentive to anything he did. He asked if God, even seeing all the sins he committed, would not stop loving him.
And the teacher kindly replied, "Never, my dear. God loves you so much that He can't take His eyes off you.".

Luther is said to have declared this teacher a doctor of theology, for knowing how to make such an impressive distinction between law and Gospel (the Reformer said that this is what most makes a person worthy of a doctorate: while for the unrepentant sinner omniscience and the impossibility of escaping the presence are frightening, for the sincere Christian willing to repent, such a situation involves acceptance on the part of the Father).
Knowing that God is always aware of everything, the sincere Christian has no need, as Jonah childishly did, to try to flee from His presence.
On the contrary, he is reminded that nothing is outside of God's control, that nothing that might happen to him—even the most frightening things or the most difficult trials—is beyond what the apostle Paul says:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.;
But God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.,
But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

(1ˢᵗ Corinthians 10:13 – ACF)

Each person can, therefore, by examining their own heart, know whether they fear or are grateful for divine omniscience, whether they fear that God is aware of their sins, or whether they feel the security of having a Heavenly Father who never takes His eyes off them, taking care of the child He loves at all times.
Fear and the desire to escape, or joy at divine acceptance… the choice is up to each individual.

In the Bonds of Calvary

Eduardo Pydd Teixeira

Coincidences (or not) aside, it seems that the end times are revealing themselves more and more rapidly, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already observe signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist consolidating not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.