Hello, another quiet week done; so I'm another week closer to home. Its been another quiet and uneventful week really, which makes it quite had to think what to write in this blog!
One lunch time this week I decided to go and sit on the flight deck and get some sun. I quite like sitting out there, feet dangling over the side of the ship, just watching the sea go by. I find it quite relaxing.
Sometimes if you sit there long enough you get to see some amazing wildlife, different birds can be seen if we are close to land and flying fish are often seen skimming across the waves. Every now and again you get to see a pod of dolphins, and if your really lucky they
come and play in the wake of the ship. That really is something amazing to see!
This week I thought I saw a first for me, I thought I saw a whale! I got quite excited by this as I have never seen one before;however my excitement was not very long lived as I soon worked out it was just two waves crashing together making a spurt of water and not a whale!
This got me thinking about the book of Jonah in the Bible. I expect everyone knows the story well; it's a Sunday School favorite. Jonah is told by God to go to a city called Nineveh and warn them how wicked they are being and that they need to turn from their evil ways and return to God. But Jonah has other ideas, he does not want to risk going there and so decides to do a runner from God. He jumps on a ship and sails off in the opposite direction. The ship gets into a massive storm and is about to be wrecked. The crew, working out that its all Jonahs fault for running from God throw him into the sea. Once in the sea Jonah is swallowed by a whale. He lives in the whale for 3 days and nights until he prays and decides he should do as God commanded him. The whale then vomited him up onto dry land (Nice!). Jonah then went and did as the Lord commanded and took Gods message to the city of Nineveh.
The story sounds a bit far fetched, I mean, could you really survive in the belly of a whale (or big fish as it actually says in the Bible) for 3 days and nights? But even if the facts of it are not 100% true it's a great story with a great message.
I did however start to wonder how much of a Jonah I am at times though. So God has never spoken to me and said "Steve I want you to go this city and proclaim my message" However at the end of the day this ship is just like a city. I'm sure God has put me here to spread his word. But how often have I tried to run away from this task God has given me? Luckily God has not seen fit to make me fall off the ship and get swallowed by a whale though! But just because he has not, it does not mean there have not been times when he has probably been disappointed in the way I have not fulfilled the task he has given me.
In the Book of Jonah we can read Jonah's prayer, it was when Jonah was in the whale that he called out to the Lord and asked him to forgive him for running and to give him the strength to carry out the task he had been given.
There is a good message there, it is through prayer that we are strengthened to carry out whatever task God has given us, whether it be spreading his message to a city, town, work place, a single person or even a whole ships crew!
So today I would ask that you think about the task God has given you. Are you fulfilling it? Or are you at times being a Jonah and running from it? Has God given you a task which you think is too hard for you? God knows what you are capable of and would not give you a task you cannot fulfill; just pray about it and he will give you the strength!
The Sailing Salvationist
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