and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea

Jon 1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

Again dear readers we find ourselves looking at the life of Jonah. I don't know why but I love this part of history, and enjoy the lessons that are available in it. Yesterday we talked a little about Gods will and how Jonah had almost missed it. You see I forgot to mention yesterday that there is a simple way, a plan A if you choose to accept it, then there's always plan B, C, D. It's totally up to you if you choose plan A or not and it would be a whole lot easier. As we continue reading though we see the ignorance of Jonah and his decision. While this great and mighty tempest is come against the ship and every man is crying out to his god, Jonah decides to go below and sleep. Now isn't that like our lives? Instead of confronting what is coming at us with God and His wisdom, we usually decide to lay down and just hope it goes away. I remember a statement when I was little, anything worth having is worth fighting for. Meanwhile back on the topside of the ship we see that the people had more concern for Jonah than he had for them, they were getting rid of their wares faster than Jonah was snoring. What a shame when we have an opportunity to make a difference in peoples lives and all we think about is ourselves. Jonah could have been on the topside helping them, or better yet he could have been alongside them petitioning God for mercy. We could be doing are part as this illustrates how we should be in our lives. Friend there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in your church, or help in people's lives instead of being selfish and sleeping during the storm. What we need to remember is during the storm there is still the God of the storm, and we should be petitioning God to see us through it safely. We also need to remember that looking at this Jonah wasn't the only one going through the storm, there were innocent bystanders because of his decision. A lot of times in our lives we like to think that the decisions we make only affect us when in reality it affects a lot more. Again it goes to show our selfishness, and how we are only looking at the moment versus the outcome. As Christians we need to have a heart that is thinking on others also while we are praying through our own storms, someone else may be alongside us in the storm and we might forget them, then they could become a casualty. Friend let me encourage you to keep on, even when the waves seem restless enough to overturn the ship, look to the Lord for help and believe that He will if called upon.