Christian Devotional – April 23, 2026

The Reluctant Follower, Day 2

Do you want God to notice you? Read Jonah 1:4-6.

I’ve read through Jonah numerous times but this is honestly the first time that I caught this statement. Jonah is running from God. He does not want to follow God and does not want to do what God has told him to do. He’s hiding in a boat on the way to as far away from where God wants him to be as possible. But a storm comes and all the people of the boat are seeking their gods. The captain of the boat tells Jonah that he needs to call on his god to see if his god will notice him.

Now the very last thing Jonah wants is for God to notice him. These people want God, any god, to notice them, see their situation, and help them out. Jonah, on the other hand, has no interest in calling on God and does not want people to notice him.

Do we want God to see us where we are? I mean, do we really want God to see everything about where we are and what we ‘re doing. Yes, we want God’s help when we’re in trouble and struggling, but do we want God to notice us? Do we want him to see what we do in our free time, or how we spend our evenings. Do we want him involved in what we do when no one’s looking? Do, we want God to notice us, then?

Jonah, the “godly man,” was trying to hide from God and instead, the others around him who were not “godly” were trying to get God to notice them. The fact of the matter is that God sees us and knows everything about us. He sees our struggles. He sees our obedience. Are we calling on God to see us and to notice us, or like Jonah, are we trying, unsuccessfully, to hide what we’re doing from God?