When we run from the presence of our Heavenly Father, there are consequences for ourselves and sometimes for those around us as well. Jonah was running from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3), when the storm meant for him (Jonah 1:4, 10) caused other men on the ship to be “exceedingly afraid” (Jonah 1:10). Hmm, Jonah caused others to be exceedingly afraid in the midst of a storm, simply because he was running from God. Not only did Jonah cause them to be afraid, but he also caused them to loose financially (Jonah 1:5) as they threw things overboard trying to lighten them ship in the middle of the storm. Now for the hard question: have you or I caused this kind of harm to another because we were simply running from the presence of God?
