Christian Devotional – April 22, 2026

The Reluctant Follower, Day 1

Yep, nope. Not going to do that. Read Jonah 1:1-3.

After studying Titus and Paul, who were both willing followers for Christ, I wanted to take a few days and walk back through someone who wasn’t so willing. While I absolutely want to follow Christ with all my heart, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days when I’m more reluctant about it. Maybe I’m just not feeling it that day. Maybe, I’ve been tossed around a little more that day. Maybe the road has seemed particularly hard. Whatever the reason, there are days when I’m not “feeling” my commitment to Christ. Those are the days we have to continue to hold on to the truth… unlike Jonah.

Reading these first 3 verses of this story, we see that the Lord speaks to Jonah. We know from scripture that Jonah has delivered at least one other message from God. So, him receiving this message wasn’t completely out of the blue. Jonah was a prophet. He sought after God and sought to deliver his messages. However, when he received this message, he immediately turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

First, are we listening for God’s messages to us? Would we even hear them or recognize them when they come? Jonah was listening and he heard the message quite clearly. Second, are we responding to God’s messages in obedience? Jonah took a much more selective approach. He followed and obeyed the messages he liked, but since he didn’t like this message, he decided to run away. What is our response when faced with a truth of God that we don’t like? Are we willing to bend our will and desires to God’s, or are we more likely to turn and run away?

We’re going to follow Jonah’s story over the next few days and decide if we are also a reluctant follower.

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/ivOfSriX0DQ