Words of wisdom: Then they said to him. What shall we do to you, that the sea may subside and be calm for us? For the sea became more and more violently tempestuous.
And Jonah said to them. Take me up and cast me into the sea, so shall the sea become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. Jonah 1:11-12
Life point: Never too late
What happens when we go on the opposite direction from where God has directed us? What happened to Jonah? Jonah 1 tells us that when he boarded a ship and headed in his own direction a storm arose.
Many of the storms we face in life are the results of our own stubbornness and disobedience, nothing else.
We may try to blame them on other things and people, but the truth is that in many instances we have been disobedient to the voice of leadership of God.
The violent storm that came upon Jonah frightened the men on the ship and they knew that they would die if something did not change.
They cast lots to see who was causing the trouble, and the lot fell on Jonah.
They asked him what he had done that made God so angry. He knew he had disobeyed God , so he told them to throw him overboard in order to deliver them from danger.
They did as he requested the storm stopped, and a great fish swallowed Jonah. From the fish’s belly not a pleasant place, he cried out for deliverance and repented of his stubborn ways.
Even though Jonah was in a bad place seaweed was wrapped around his head and the abyss surrounded him he turned to the Lord.
Jonah did the right thing. He did not say to himself, well I have really blown it now I have disobeyed God so much that there is no turning back. Instead Jonah turned to the Lord, praised Him, and expressed faith in His delivering power.
Child of God it’s never too late for us to pray to God , even when we may have run the opposite direction from Him. God is a God of mercy and grace. He heard Jonah’s prayer and spoke to the fish to vomit him out on dry land.
While this was not pleasant for Jonah, his life was spared. His story speaks to us that we can never stray so far from God that He cannot hear us .
He will respond when we cry out to Him. We will be able to say as Jonah “I cried out of my distress to the Lord and He heard me”.
Prayer
O Lord deliver me from myself.
Holy Spirit circumcise my heart to walk in obedience to Your Word.