Living Beyond Myself

Scripture – Jonah 1:8-12: ⁸So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” ⁹He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” ¹⁰This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) ¹¹The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” ¹²“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) How interesting! The sailors knew about the Lord. They had not known it was from Him Jonah was running. They knew enough that they were “terrified” when they found out. What was going on in Jonah’s heart? He recognized it was his fault that the storm had come. Did he also feel compassion for the sailors and responsibility for what they were experiencing? Whatever was happening, he offered his life to save theirs. All the times I’ve read this story, I’ve never really noticed that before.

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) Would I do that? If I knew my actions had put others at risk, would I give up my life to save them? Obviously I can’t answer that – and I hope I never face such a choice. At the same time, I do face other people each day. I will be aware of how my actions affect them.

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, keep my heart open to your power and presence today. Teach me to look beyond how things will affect me. Help me see how my behavior affects other. Teach me to live in a way that’s good for them and that will help them see a glimpse of you.