The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “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.” Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.

When things start going wrong, many times we go from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C pretty quickly. The sailors had Plan A, which was to weather the storm; Plan B, which was to pray to their gods, and now Plan C is to retreat and head back to where they came from. But none of these plans worked.

Isn’t this the way it is sometimes in life? We plan our best plans, but God has different ones in store for us — better plans.

We see here that the sailors were honorable men. Even though Jonah told them to throw him into the sea, they refused. They did not want to have his blood on their hands. Maybe this sheds some light on why God wanted these men to know him.

When we find ourselves in the middle of a circumstance where God wants to teach us something, there is typically no escaping it. We can postpone it sometimes, but he is relentless and keeps pursuing us unto salvation.

Lord, thank you for this great example of your relentless love that continues to pursue our hearts. You wanted the sailors to know you, so you made it impossible for them to escape their situation. You want me to know you too. Teach me, O Father, to trust you more!