Jan 8 Devotion: Man Overboard!

Jonah 1:11-15

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

         Jonah thought he could run away from God. How can you run from an omnipresent, omniscient God? Since God knows everything, he already knows where you are and since he is everywhere present, wherever you go, he will already be there. Our thinking becomes skewed when we are living in disobedience. We come to some of the oddest conclusions and try some of the oddest things. It is not possible to hide from God.

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

         We see in this story of Jonah that his disobedience had affected those around him. The storm was for Jonah, but the sailors felt the effects. They were in a dilemma as to what could be done. Jonah’s solution was to throw him overboard so that the effects of God’s chastisement on Jonah would at least release the sailors from the collateral circumstances. The Bible tells us that the storm was calmed when he was tossed out of the ship (so, his idea was correct) but there is more to it than that. To choose to be a man overboard is to give up hope. It is a state of utter defeat. Instead of repentance, Jonah chose hopelessness. Jonah wanted out. He was in a deep state of despair. (To request to be thrown overboard is a suicidal tendency.) But God did not bring a storm to destroy Jonah and those with him. God sent it to get Jonah’s attention. He still had work for him to do in Nineveh, and he still wanted him to do it. The storm was not to get Jonah off the track but to get him back on track. How do we know this? Because God already had a specially prepared great fish (whale) to get his attention when he chose the man overboard approach. God knew what Jonah would do, and was prepared for it.

         Let us consider the truth that God knows everything and we may give up but God still has something prepared for us to draw us back into fellowship with him. Don’t think that being a man overboard will solve your problems. Instead, repent. Turn back to God in humble contrition. Fellowship is far better than floundering as a man overboard.

In Christ’s Service,

Bro. Adrian Moore

2 Cor. 4:5