A Woman's Battle for Grace: Why God Is More Than You Expected and Everything You Need by Cheryl Brodersen

Author:Cheryl Brodersen [Brodersen, Cheryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Living, Women's Interests, Sexuality & Gender Studies
ISBN: 9780736974592
Google: Nfd_DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: HarvestHouse
Published: 2019-01-22T21:10:31+00:00

Exposed! (Jonah 1:6-16)

One of the worst Christian witnesses is graceless behavior. Nothing is more humiliating than to act in a graceless manner, only to have it discovered you’re a Christian!

My father, a pastor, loved to tell the story about a woman in front of him at the grocery store. She was yelling at the checkout clerk over some perceived mistake. The clerk was calm and absorbing the fury, but the woman continued by showering the hapless employee with a variety of expletives. Then she turned to pour a bit of her rage on the people behind her in line. That’s when she saw my dad. “Chuck!” she cried with an element of surprise and shame commingling.

Dad gave her one of his brilliant smiles. “Hello there. Sounds like you’re having a pretty bad day. Like you need to make sure you don’t miss next Sunday’s message about loving one another.” The woman tried to stammer some excuse as she gathered her groceries, and then she fled the store.

The captain of the ship found Jonah fast asleep while his men were desperately fighting the violent storm and praying to their pagan gods for help. Jonah was brought to the deck, where because they recognized a spiritual force behind the terrible tempest, the hardened mariners were trying to determine the spiritual cause of the storm. They cast lots to see who was to blame for such a catastrophe. The lot fell on Jonah.

Immediately, the men began to question him: “ ‘Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?’ ” (1:8).

Jonah had to admit, “ ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ ” (1:9). Jonah was confessing to these men that his God was the One who had power over the storm. The storm was happening because Jonah had tried to hide from the Lord. The men were beyond afraid and asked Jonah why he would do such a thing! Why would he run away and try to hide from such a powerful God?

Here’s the factual answer Jonah probably didn’t give: “I ran because I have no grace for people like you. I care more about my own comforts and my own people than I do about the people who are perishing because they don’t know the living God of Israel.”

No, I don’t think Jonah confessed everything, because when he told these men the way to stop the storm was to throw him overboard, they were reluctant to do it. If they had known his true motivation, they might have been less reluctant!

The seamen made one last effort to save the ship. Then having exhausted every other method, they prayed to the Lord, “ ‘Please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You’ ” (1:14).

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