I can’t think of a single person in the scriptures, aside from Jesus, who in some way didn’t take the wrong direction.

I could go on and on. But the one who grabs my attention is Jonah. It’s one of the first biblical stories I remember learning as a child. The story didn’t seem so dramatic then, but when I think about it now, it’s a totally different deal.

Jonah was a prophet. His job duties were to hear from God and deliver God’s message to the people. One day Jonah received a message from God to go to the people of Nineveh and tell them how wicked they were. By the third verse of this book, you can see where this is going.

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.
_{Jonah 1:3 NLT}

There’s much to explore about why Jonah chose to go in the opposite direction, but let’s save that for another day. The point is he chose the opposite direction. He deliberately moved away from God and the people. He went so far as to get on a boat going the opposite direction.

He moved the wrong way, went down the wrong path, chose disobedience. It wasn’t like he was trying to do his best and failed. He didn’t have an unclear choice when the road forked. He didn’t want to do what God asked him to do. I’ve known how he feels. I’ve felt it too. There’s no “Oops” I went the wrong direction in this story.

For a long time I had the notion that moving in the wrong direction meant I would mess it all up. Like there’s no way to get back on track kind of mess up. I mean, what if I went the wrong direction and it ruined everything? It made it hard to move, and fear kept me chained. Not to mention the pride in believing I have the power to mess up God’s plan.

Just yesterday in a conversation with a loved one we talked about taking the next step. All the what ifs buzzing around like annoying flies at a picnic. As we talked I shared the story of Jonah, and then encouraged him with these words.

When your heart is to follow God to the best of your ability, and an invitation has come to move, the thing to do is take the next step. God is not a God of trickery. He’s not trying to trip you up or lead you down a wrong path. And the reality is you have no idea how this will turn out, or if you’ll be happy where you end up. Because that’s not the point. Faith is the point. God is all about calling us to move, to take it step by step, because these are the building blocks of faith. One step is all you have to take. God will do the rest. You’ll see.

This friends… is the Good News.