Ripples...

This morning I was Thinking of the sailors on the ship that 
Jonah happened to pick....    

A superstitious lot   
when things went bad they draw straws  
to see who did something bad....   
Ying and Yang?     
Karma....?    
One of the gods....?    
and the short straw was in Jonah's hand...   

Hm....  wasn't THAT a 'coincidence'....   Hmmm..

Jonah 1:8 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?"

9 He answered,
"I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD,
the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the land."

10 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.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher.
So they asked him,
"What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"

12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied,
"and it will become calm.
I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
13 Instead,
the men did their best to row back to land.
But they could not,
for the sea grew even wilder than before.

14 Then they cried to the LORD,
"O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life.
Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man,
for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased."

15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard,
and the raging sea grew calm.

16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD,
and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD
and made vows to him.

Wow.
What an event.....
talk about PTSD!
A storm
Imminent loss of life and ship and all hands...
Solution.????
Throw the 'new guy' into the raging sea!
What?!

and it grew instantly calm
and the realization that there REALLY IS
a God who made the sea and land....
and that Jonah really was a man running from Him....

O Wow.

I can't imagine what it must have been like to be that captain
to make that decision....
Throw the passenger into the sea....
Everything in him must have screamed,
"NO! We will save him and all on board....."

and yet.
This man Jonah.
So calm
So matter a fact.
"my fault. Throw me overboard...."

Lord Jesus,
What are You saying to me this morning?
What do I take away from this crazy event?
What did those sailors do in the days and months and years afterwards?
What vows did they make to You?
Will I meet them in Heaven and hear their story?
Hmmm....

Jonah.
Your man
Influenced those around Him
for Good AND bad.....

Ripples in the pond.
from my life
as You walk me through my next 'lesson'....
What will THAT look like?
Interesting....
not quite so dramatic I trust...?

Hmmm...
BC Ferries.... watch out?
:)

PJ