Have you ever had to step up and tell the truth in a difficult situation? We grow in spiritual maturity as we learn to tell the truth instead of blaming others. In our story, Jonah was running from God and the Lord sent a great storm to intervene. As the sailors fought the storm, they asked Jonah who he was and where he was from.
Jonah 1:9 So Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”[1]
Despite all of Jonah’s faults, he does tell the truth when he tells the sailors he is the cause of the storm. He takes responsibility for their predicament. What do the Scriptures tell us about the importance of truth?
- John 8:31-32 –Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”[2]
- John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.[3]
Prayer: Lord, at times it is easier to stretch the truth or just plain lie because it seems easier at the time. Give me the strength to tell the truth in love no matter how difficult the situation may be. Amen.
To hear more of the story of Jonah, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/the-call/the-call-jonah
[1-3] The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.