The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord.
“Why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
What do you do when you discover that your love and prayers for someone is no longer able to cover their unrepentance? Despite all of your attempts to get the ship they are hiding below onto dry land, what do you do when you discover a leader who is running away from taking responsibility?
And whose decision to run and do things his or her way is primarily responsible for the violent and ‘tempestous’ storms your team, organization, and perhaps entire church is now facing?
As we see here in the first chapter of Jonah, there are times when love just has to be thrown overboard. I am eternally grateful that during my season of running, there were leaders around me who decided it would be far better for me to be swallowed up by a fish, than to be swallowed up by sin.
For those I love and pray for earnestly, I hope they lean into that same confidence during this season.
Thank you for writing this. Defending or hiding the misdeeds of our brethren is a misrepresentation of Christ and gives the world ammunition to speak evil of God and The Faith. We have to operate in a greater level of accountability and higher standard of living.
This is a good time to interview Moses and Pharoah ( Exodus 94: 13,14)
Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Psalm 105:15
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Jeremiah 23:1
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
WHEN GOD SAY “IT’S SHOW TIME,” (we call church time) HE MEANS “IT’S SHOW TIME.”
MAN won’t get the credit for this, ALL GOD! GOD HAS A PLAN!
THE MESSEGE WILL BE CLEAR AND SOULS WILL BE SAVED!
LET’S LOVE ACCORDING TO THE WORD, not worldly emotions, and watch our God!
…..It’s church time yal!
Milan -
Thank you for this post. I just recently went through having to throw my older brother overboard because he continues to run. It hurt real bad and I even thought my leaders and others in the Body were mad and disappointed in me for asking him to leave my home (I even sent him back to our home state)… I still suffer from remnants of him in my home (finances, lingering spirits, etc) and people constantly ask me about him… He called yesterday and asked for money–I said no of coarse but always let him know that I love him and continue to pray for him…. but after reading your post it’s time to “throw my love overboard”. This is the 3-4 time I’ve allowed him in my home… no more!! Thanks for the post.
Love & Blessings,
Cherry
Ouch! Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
I love this message. It is written with a lot of meat and no fishbones. I love the new post format, in that it opens directly to your message.
Great juxtaposition to the motto of going down w/ the ship.
God bless.