Rerouted: 30 Days Through the Book of JonahSample

Surrendering to True Repentance

Brittany Turner

Jonah 1:11-12

Once I became a mother, I experienced a phenomenon I wasn’t expecting. As I corrected or guided my daughter, I could hear the Holy Spirit whispering that what I was teaching her was also meant for me. So often, when God addresses others through us, He’s also working to purify and refine something in us.

As we’ve discussed previously in our Jonah study, God tasked Jonah with delivering a message to address the evil in Nineveh, and in today’s scriptures, we see the Lord was addressing sin in Jonah’s heart at the same time. The Ninevites were known for their violence and cruelty, treating enemies with brutality. We can imagine Jonah’s disdain toward Nineveh and perhaps fear for his own safety if he went there (Jonah 1:2-3). Yet Jonah was guilty of running from God, and so far he had not repented.

When Jonah found himself in a storm caused by his disobedience (Jonah 1:4), the sailors asked him what to do, and Jonah’s response was striking: “Hurl me into the sea” (Jonah 1:12). He didn’t suggest turning the ship around to obey God but resigned himself to the consequences of his sin, choosing death. Acknowledging “it is because of me” (Jonah 1:12), he accepted the storm’s consequences but did not repent. Repentance means turning back to God, accepting His grace, and aligning our hearts with His will (Acts 3:19), not merely resigning to sin’s consequences.

Unfortunately, Jonah’s disobedience also impacted others. The sailors endured fear and turmoil due to his rebellion (Jonah 1:10-11). Our choices to sin never exist in isolation. Yet God’s response to Jonah’s sin also points us to His unrelenting grace, not just for Jonah but for us all (Lamentations 3:22-23). Even in the storm, God pursued Jonah, revealing hidden, hardened places in his heart.

Similarly, God uses "storms" or trials in our lives to expose disobedience and call us back to Him. Like Jonah, we face the choice to surrender to sin’s weight or God’s refining work. Will we repent or be consumed? May we respond to God’s discipline with repentance, not resignation. God’s grace invites us to turn, obey, and find restoration and redemption in Him.