Jonah - 20 Questions

Jonah 1:7-10 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

When the storm hit here this past week, and the hurricane that demolished New Orleans hit - you didn't hear anybody saying, "Okay, who's runnin' from God". "We need to get someone out of the city that's causing this problem for us". These men in the boat knew who was in charge of the weather, knew that there was a God, simply by knowing nature. People only need to look at the flowers to know that God exists and put those works of art in our front yard as a constant reminder of His love for us.

Anyway, they figure out it's Jonah and that's where the 20 questions begin. What gets me is that Jonah admits everything. "I'm a Hebrew, I worship the one true God." Someone who justifies his belief, willing to stand firm in a crowd of men who do not believe and yet not smart enough to rest in God's authority and do what he was told. These men are shocked and want to know what Jonah has done to cause this storm.

Sin is a part of our life, it's a constant struggle day in and day out to get up and do our best to stay on track. There is nothing Satan would like more than to let us think that because we sin - we cannot be a witness for Christ. The truth is, it's because we sin that we need Christ and want to be a witness for Him. We know the hope that comes by being in a relationship with Him and other people need to know that we are not perfect, just forgiven. Perhaps by sharing these things - as Jonah shared with those men that he was running - will help people realize that God wants us all to seek Him, no matter what we're running from.