Jonah 1:14, 16 (ESV)
14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us
not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O
Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 16 Then the men feared the Lord
exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
I love the story of Jonah. Most of the time we put our focus
on Jonah's journey. Today let’s look at
the lives of the pagan sailors. What a journey they were on! We see the hand of
God touching them through Jonah's disobedience. Talk about God bringing good
from evil. Here He draws them into a desperate sea voyage and almost
incidentally reveals to them the impotence of their gods, who have no power
whatsoever to stop the deadly storm. In their total helplessness the God of
Heaven then introduces Himself through his runaway prophet. And suddenly, the
sailors are crying out to God.
They are not crying out to their gods any longer – but
now are crying to the true God of Israel.
And God performs a miracle for them, when Jonah is tossed
into the sea, the storm suddenly calmed... and the amazing miracle evokes what
sounds like prophesying, as they offer sacrifices and vows in worship to God.
"For You, O Lord, have done as you pleased!" The whole crew is
converted. So, while Jonah is fish food – there's a revival happening on board.
And now these wonder struck sailors have quite a fish
story to tell in all their subsequent travels concerning the wayward prophet
who disappeared beneath the waves as his God stilled the perfect storm. And the
Lord has a boat full of newborn missionaries heading to Tarshish...
Our God desires all people throughout the world to hear
His message. His providence is such that anywhere His servants find themselves
becomes a place and a moment of opportunity for Him. The apostle Paul writes to
Timothy "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season. Even Jonah's gross disobedience didn't stop the Lord from using
him as a testimony. We need to be aware of who we are and what we carry for Jesus.
His love and faithfulness to us is such that even our discipline can become a
vehicle for showing His love to the world.
Dear Lord, Help us be the vehicle that shows someone Your
love today. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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