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But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
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Today’s message
Today is a day for lists and crossing things off. I know how uncomfortable it is to say goodbye. We prefer to manage small problems rather than face a big crisis that will give us peace afterwards and forever. We keep repeating goodbyes without finishing, like that mother who starts saying goodbye an hour early. But sometimes God only moves the next cycle after we make necessary decisions. Many of them require this skill: to say goodbye and truly leave. It’s not light or simple. It’s maturity, obedience, and courage to end what paralyzes.
Look at Jonah. The storm didn’t come from the weather; it came from someone on the ship. While the ship was almost breaking apart, Jonah was sleeping in the hold. When those sharing your boat are sleeping in your distress, there’s a diagnosis. The sailors cast lots and identified the cause. God teaches us to discern when someone else's chaos has become the cause of our story. The quicker we remove from the vessel those who create unnecessary storms, the faster they cease. Is it hard? Yes. But it’s liberating to live in obedience.
Questions You Ask Before Getting on the Boat
- Who are you, what do you believe, and whom do you obey when it hurts?
- Where do you come from and where are you going, with what life mission?
- What is your truth in crises: do you run away, face it, or blame others?
- What fruits surround you: peace, responsibility, and respect, or recurring chaos?
- What boundaries do you honor: family, faith, work, laws, and people?
The faster you remove from your vessel those who are creating the storms you are facing unnecessarily, the faster the storms in your life will cease.
I need to be clear: I’m not talking about your marriage. For marriage, pray, fight, and battle. God restores homes; I’ve seen that in my family. Now, if there is abuse, the stance is different: a man who hits a woman goes to jail the same day. Sick people need a psychiatrist. Love, yes, but don’t carry anyone’s disobedience on your back. Protect your home. When God shows the cause, respond with truth and responsibility.
Goodbye Decisions That Preserve Your Peace
- Remove from the boat those who insist on disobeying and generating recurring storms.
- Accept being the villain in someone’s story to avoid having yours destroyed.
- Listen to wise warnings – especially from the wife who discerns dangers early.
- Protect your family: clear boundaries, reduced access, firm emotional securities.
- Act quickly: a decision today avoids months of wear and paralysis.
Saying goodbye hurts, but a continuous storm destroys. If you learn to say goodbye in time, many storms won’t even start. And when the right crisis is faced today, peace comes tomorrow and remains. God corrects to restore, just as the fish brought Jonah back to the center of His will. Trust: to love is to choose the good of the other without sacrificing obedience. Do what needs to be done. God will honor your courage.
Did you know
- Jonah boarded in Joppa (now Jaffa), a port on the Mediterranean coast, heading to Tarshish, in the opposite direction of Nineveh.
- Throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship was a common practice in storms; it also appears in Acts 27.
- Casting lots was an ancient method to discern decisions and responsibilities, recognizing God’s sovereignty in the outcome.
Key phrases
- Today is a day for lists and crossing things off.
- We prefer to manage small problems than to create a big crisis to have peace afterwards and forever.
- I’m not talking about your marriage.
- It’s better for you to be the villain in someone’s story than for someone to be the villain in your story and destroy your peace.
Translated from the Portuguese original.
Seek
To seek today
Go deeper
Go deeper
Aprenda a dar Tchau | Deive Leonardo
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