Jonah Runs from God

God had a job for Jonah. 'Go to the big city of Nineveh and tell them to stop being bad!'

But Jonah didn't want to go. Nineveh was scary! The people there were mean! So Jonah ran away. He found a boat going FAR in the other direction and hopped on board.

Jonah thought he could hide from God. Silly Jonah!

God sent a HUGE storm. The waves crashed! The wind howled! The sailors were terrified! They threw stuff overboard to make the boat lighter.

And Jonah? He was sleeping down below!

The captain woke him up. 'How can you sleep?! Pray to your god!'

The sailors figured out the storm was Jonah's fault. 'What did you DO?!'

'I'm running away from God,' Jonah admitted. 'Throw me in the ocean and the storm will stop.'

The sailors didn't want to, but finally they threw Jonah overboard. SPLASH! Right away, the storm stopped. The sailors were amazed at God's power.

But what about Jonah? GULP! A gigantic fish swallowed him whole!

Jonah was inside that fish for THREE days and THREE nights. It was dark and smelly and gross. Jonah had lots of time to think.

He prayed, 'God, I'm sorry! I should have listened to You. Thank You for saving me. I'll do what You asked!'

God told the fish to spit Jonah out. BLECH! There was Jonah on the beach—slimy but safe.

You can't hide from God. But here's the good news: God gives second chances!