Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

We see here the result of God’s grace to Jonah and his incredible patience with him.  We also gain some insight into how God works. He works in the middle of the storm, he works in the challenges. He does his best work there.

The crew had developed the reverence for God, belief in him, and the desire to honor him. They offered him a sacrifice. I would say they likely had given their hearts over to him.  And their concern was to be in right relationship with him. This is something we can learn from them, as we go on about our days.  Right relationship with God on a daily basis is a good goal.

And coming from a background of multiple gods, where certain gods supposedly got irritated, angry, or offended at certain things; they pleaded with God, this God of all gods, to not be angry with them for following through on throwing Jonah out of the boat.

So God used the storm in multiple ways: one, to teach Jonah a lesson that you can’t run from God, two, to get Jonah to turn back to him, and three, to change the heart of the sailors.

Lord, thank you for your blessings. Thank you for the way you love us. I pray that you will help me to remember that you are a gracious God, and remind me to be gracious, as well.