Daily Devotional for Tuesday, July 21

Jonah in the Hold of a Ship

“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,” Jonah 1:5.
Imagine a fireman that trained hard for his job each day but refused to go out on actual emergencies. Or envision a city with a police force that failed to respond to the calls for help within their community. We would consider them useless. These are the people we count on for emergency assistance in life and death situations. Failure to carry out their sworn duties would result in chaos, confusion, injury and death.
But even more important is the matter of the soul. The consequences of refusing to share the gospel of Jesus Christ could mean the difference between eternal life and eternal death for others. Jonah ran from God’s direct command to go to Ninevah. He got on a ship going in the opposite direction and fell asleep in the hold where the cargo was kept. The storm was raging, and many lives were at stake, yet, Jonah slept.
Jesus gave His church a direct command as well. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). This is our purpose. Failure to carry out our commission could mean spiritual death for many souls for all eternity. You may be like Jonah and run from your calling to tell others about Jesus. Are you hiding behind excuses as to why you will not witness? Or maybe like Jonah, you are spiritually asleep and unaware of the souls whose lives are in danger. It is time to wake up! People desperately need the Lord, and we have the answers they seek.

REFLECTION
Does fear keep you from sharing Christ? Ask the Lord for boldness and be obedient. He will give you strength to overcome.

Darla Goodrum