Jonah - no bridge over troubled waters - Jonah 1:4-7

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!
   Well, Jonah has paid his fare and is on the ship.  So, all is well, so thinks Jonah.  The ship sets sail, God knows where Jonah is, God knows what Jonah is trying to do, so what is God going to do.  Now let me ask this: Is Jonah in fellowship or out of fellowship with GOD?
   Jonah is doing as we often do, hide and think it will all blow over and all will be well.  Well, speaking of blowing over, that is what happened after the ship set sail.  Jonah Chapter 1 verse 4 "But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."   God called upon another servant, the wind, to bring the servant Jonah back into fellowship. 
   Now it did not just happen and Jonah said okay Lord, here I go.  No! The great wind was tossing them about such that they thought the ship may break apart.  The mariners were afraid and each man cried out to his god.  They threw some of their cargo overboard to lighten the ship, but nothing was helping.  So where was Jonah?  He was in asleep down below.  The multi-cultural crew was scared as they had not experienced such a violent storm in their travels.  The ships captain went to get Jonah.
    Now this is interesting.  The ships crew called upon "their" gods in fear.  When the captain found Jonah he told him to "call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not."    The other gods they called upon did nothing, so the captain wanted Jonah's God to do something.  So, in verse 7 they cast lots so they "may know for whose cause this evil is upon us.  So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah."   Casting lots is mentioned 70 times in the Bible. Casting lots was used in Biblical times but what a "lot" is, is not actually known.  It is like us today drawing straws or flipping a coin.
    The lot fell to Jonah.  Now before we continue this saga let me ask you a few questions.  Have you ever known the direction God wanted you to travel, yet you turned away?   Did you experience the "storm" as you walked out of fellowship with God?  Were the experiences a lesson you learned and keep in your heart?  Where are you walking today?  In the troubled waters as Jonah, on in a calm sea with God? Love you all.
In Christ's Love and Grace
  Johnny