The Will of God will never lead you where the Grace of God cannot keep you.

These words have been such a comfort to me over the years; I remember reading them when I was just a teenager. I love the promise in them: God will never abandon us. He will never leave us to fend for ourselves. He will always direct us and sustain us.

We recently moved from California back to Minnesota, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. The moving part (packing boxes, throwing out half our belongings) was a piece of cake compared to the actual leaving part; it was so hard to say goodbye to my family and friends. Frankly, I didn’t want to go one little bit.

Kevin said he thought it was the best thing for all of us to move. I dug in my heels and looked at my husband and said, “I don’t think so!”

He answered, “I think this is where the Lord wants us.”

And I said, “I don’t think so!”

It was the first time in our marriage that we couldn't agree on where we should live, and it was a true test of our love for each other, and our love for the Lord. I felt as if my whole life was in crisis—I couldn’t imagine leaving everyone and heading back to a place I had no desire to call home. It was awful.

Suddenly, I had new insight into the thought processes of a cranky old guy named Jonah.

Jonah said: “Lord, give me a break. Why are you sending me to Nineveh of all places? Why are you wasting my time? I have better things to do. My family is here, my friends are here. Give me a message for them, okay? Are you listening to me, Lord?”

I don’t know why God sends us to certain places at certain times, I only know that He does. And I know that there are situations when we just don’t want to go . . . times when we think we know better, like Jonah.

Jonah. . . this guy was a real piece of work. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--the Creator--told him to GO, and he said, “Uh . . . nope.”

He said NO to God. And what happened? Selfishness led to disobedience; disobedience led to full blown, pigheaded rebellion; rebellion led to utter stupidity (running away on a ship) and total disaster (as in fish food).

Why? Because Jonah thought he knew better, and I thought I knew better. And in the final analysis, it was only God who knew better.

After a very long talk with the Lord, I finally agreed to move back to Minnesota . . . Kevin’s home and so, my home. After we’d been back a few months, a friend told me a story about someone whose husband had come to her one day and asked her to move to a different place. Times were hard and he’d found better work in a different city, far from her family and friends. She refused to go, so he was forced to go without her. It wasn’t long before he met another woman, and she was left with nothing. Selfishness led to rebellion, and rebellion led to disaster.

There are times when it makes very good sense to listen to the Lord; times when our wishes and desires must be set aside to accommodate His wishes—and the needs of other people. If you can’t set “me” aside and listen to the voice of God, you’re heading out on the great sea of life aboard the good ship, Jonah.

Is God calling you to do something you wish you could run from? Do you feel that overwhelming sense of hopelessness and fear? Hang on to this wonderful promise:

The will of God will never lead you where the Grace of God cannot keep you.

I have felt this awesome Grace of God over the past year. I have experienced His strength and joy and peace. And I can tell you this . . . He keeps His promises. God will never abandon us. He will never leave us to fend for ourselves. He will always direct us and sustain us.