Jonah and Why Your Choices Matter for Everyone

Hey there. Welcome back to Carpooling with Jesus. I'm Pastor Justin, and I'm so glad you're here today. Yesterday we talked about how Jonah had tried to run away from what God asked him to do. Today we're going to see what happened next. And spoiler alert: things didn't exactly go smoothly. Buckle up and let's go. So Jonah, if you remember from yesterday, was asked to go to the city of Nineveh, and instead went down to Joppa, got in a boat, headed for Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction of Nineveh. And he got on the boat and tried to hide from God. He was thinking he could escape from God's plan. But here is what happened next. God sent a huge storm to stop him. Let's check out what happened in Jonah chapter one, verses four through six. Then the Lord hurled a violent wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his God. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep. The captain approached him and said, What are you doing sound asleep? Get up. Call to your God. Maybe this God will consider us, and we won't perish. Can you believe that? The boat was about to sink, and Jonah was taking a nap, sleeping through all of it. The sailors were terrified, throwing things off the ship to keep it from sinking. And they were praying to their gods for help. Think of how scared they probably were. Think of how confused they were, not expecting this type of a storm. But Jonah knew the truth. This storm was happening because he disobeyed God. You know, when we don't do what's right, it doesn't just affect us. It affects the people around us too. Imagine you don't study for a group project, and then your whole team gets a bad grade. That's what's happening here. Jonah's choice to run away put everyone on the boat in danger. So what can we learn from Jonah's story today? How can this help us in our day at school? First, when we choose to follow God's plan, it's always the best choice, not just for us, but for everyone around us. So today when you're at school, do your best to follow the direction of your teachers. When they ask you to do something, when there is something you and your desk mate or your table group is working on, work on it together and work hard on it. And when you make mistakes, be honest with your mistakes. Tell your teacher or tell your parents, I did something wrong, and apologize. I'm sorry for what I did. Just like God forgives us, others will forgive you when you're honest. All right, everyone. I want you to have a great day at school. That's it for today's car ride. Thanks for joining me. Next time we'll find out what happened to Jonah next, and how God showed him an incredible lesson about second chances. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if you're enjoying this podcast, share with your parent friends so they can have faith filled moments, too. Here's a question to talk about before you get out of the car. Have you ever made a choice that affected your friends or family? What did you learn from it?