Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. – Jonah 1:15-16 (NIV)

The men in the boat had just seen something amazing – the dangerous sea had become calm. The men in the boat were seasoned sailors. They knew what they were doing and had probably seen many storms before. There must have been something really intimidating about this particular storm. Imagine that you are one of the sailors, and moments before you had been certain that you would lose your life. Then, right after throwing Jonah into the sea, the sea grew calm.

I’m sure the men on the boat were scratching their heads. They probably thought, this stuff doesn’t normally happen, what did I just see? And as a result, they feared God. This storm and resulting calm convinced them of the power of God. They saw something so unexplainable that they immediately put their trust in God. Their trust in God led them to action. They began to sacrifice and make vows to God.

Today’s Truth: Placing your trust in Jesus, brings calm into your storm.

The question for you today is this, have you like the men in the boat placed your trust in God’s goodness? Have you made the decision that God is real and I need to choose to surrender my life to Him? This decision is the most important decision you’ll ever make. Knowing God and putting your trust in Him and His faithfulness will bring a calm into your life like no other you’ve ever know. Today determine if you haven’t to place your trust in Jesus and His saving work.

Pray: Jesus, today I place my faith in you. I trust you to come into my life and cleanse me from sin. I believe you are the son of God, that you died and rose again, and I surrender my life to you today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” – Jonah 1:9 (NIV)

The teenage years are often full of moments when who you are feels questioned. Jonah’s reply in the boat is simple but powerful: identity shapes action. He didn’t give a long speech — he named who he worshiped and what that meant. For students, that matters. When pressure comes — from friends, social media, or choices that don’t align with your faith — the temptation is to shrink, lie, or stay silent to fit in. Jonah shows that naming your allegiance matters, even in a scary situation.

But notice Jonah’s tone: it’s honest and defensive, not brave or perfect. He says who God is, but he’s still running. That’s a real picture of many teenagers: you can know the truth about God, yet still make wrong choices. Saying “I follow Jesus” or living like it isn’t about having everything together — it’s about letting that identity shape how you respond in stress, fear, and temptation.

Today’s Truth: Identify with God, even when it’s hard.

When you are facing moments when you feel pressure to deny Jesus, or give in to pressure, you can remember how Jonah responded. Jonah wasn’t perfect, but he did acknowledge that the God he served was the one true God – the maker of heaven and earth. Identifying with God is always the best choice. It will hold you firm when the storms of life come.

Prayer: God, help me know who I am in You and give me courage to live that out when it’s hard. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jonah 1:6 (NIV) — “The captain came and said to him, ‘What do you mean, you sleeper? Get up and call on your God! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.’”

Being a student can feel stormy at times. You have things like tests, friendships, expectations, and questions about identity. In today’s verse, we see that Jonah was asleep in the middle of a storm, avoiding God’s call. The crew woke him: not to scold, but to survive.

Today’s Truth: You don’t need to be perfect to be heard — just wake up, call on God, and trust Him to lead you through the storm.

You might relate to Jonah’s denial, guilt, or fear. Maybe you drift from God when life gets hard or when His call feels risky. But the sailors’ plea — “call on your God” — is an invitation for honest dependence, not perfect faith. God doesn’t wait for you to be spiritually impressive before He responds. He responds to real, humble prayer.

So today, admit the storm. Wake up. Call on God. Even a small, sincere prayer moves your focus to trust Him more. And watch how God uses the very people around you — friends, leaders, parents — to push you back toward Him. Don’t let pride or fear keep you asleep while the storm rages. God meets us where we are and loves us as we return to Him.

Prayer: God, I’m sorry for times I’ve run or stayed asleep in the storm. Help me to wake up, call on You honestly, and trust You with my fears. Use others to guide me back when I stray. Give me courage to follow Your call. Amen.

All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. – Jonah 1:5 (NIV)

In today’s Bible verse, we see that Jonah goes to sleep in the storm. I don’t know about you, but I find that really difficult to imagine. I never sleep well in storms. Then I try to imagine that I’m in a ship that is tossing and rocking in a terrible storm about to sink, and I find it so amazing that Jonah is sleeping deeply.

The people on the ship could have really used Jonah’s help. I’m sure they would have loved it if he had been helping them try to save their lives rather than just sleeping below deck.

Yet, I can relate to Jonah also in this moment. I know that there have been times when I’ve ignored others when they needed help. Maybe I didn’t feel like helping at that moment, and so I ignored the need. And you probably have done the same thing. Maybe you saw a friend in need, and you knew that it would cost you some comfort and so you decided it was easier to just ignore their need.

It’s easy to turn our back on the people that need us and do what feels comfortable, like Jonah did. However, God calls us as Christians to help others in need. We aren’t to pretend like we can’t see them or put off helping because we’re too busy or to help would cause us inconvenience. Instead, we should do what we can to help others, regardless of the cost.

Today’s Truth: What matters isn’t comfort rather it’s asking what is God calling me to do?

We should volunteer at church, if its needed. We should do anything and everything we can because in the light of eternity, helping others, especially with things that help them know Jesus really does matter. It can be easy to want to stay where it’s comfortable, but God is calling us to come up from below deck, to wake up, and to ask what is it that God is calling us to do?

What matters in light of eternity? Is it that you did more fun things, or that you helped someone know Jesus more?

Pray: God, I ask you to help me prioritize my life in terms of eternity. I want to be sure that my choices are helping others know Jesus more. Help me to live for you today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. – Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV)

Jonah 1:1-3 tells a familiar story: God speaks to Jonah, telling him to go to Nineveh. Instead of obeying, Jonah runs the other way and boards a ship headed for Tarshish. For many students, this feels real—so many times God asks us to do something hard, and our first instinct is to run.

Why would Jonah run? Maybe he was afraid, embarrassed, or didn’t want to change. Maybe he thought he knew better. Sound familiar? When God nudges you to speak up for a friend, to apologize, to choose integrity when it’s unpopular, or to trust Him with your future, it can feel safer to avoid the situation. But avoidance doesn’t erase the call.

Running away only postpones the work God wants to do in you—and sometimes makes things worse. Jonah’s flight leads to a storm, fear, and a dramatic turnaround. God’s direction isn’t a restriction; it’s protection and purpose. Following God is good because it moves you into what you were made for.

If you’re tempted to run from what God is asking—think small: a courageous text to a friend, a kind word in a difficult moment, choosing honesty when lying would be easier. Obedience often starts with the small, everyday things. When you say “yes” to those, you’re being formed into someone who can handle bigger calls later.

Today’s Truth: You can’t outrun God—His call is closer than you think, and obeying even the small things leads to real purpose and freedom.

Prayer: God, help me see Your call and give me courage to obey, even when it’s scary. Help me to trust You with the next step and use my small acts of obedience. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. – Psalm 119:165 (NIV)

I’m usually quite clumsy. I can recall a time when I wore some new shoes to church. In the church’s lobby, somehow, I was able to hook one shoe into the leg of my pants. I don’t know how I did it, but there was no way out of the problem. I was tripping and falling to the floor in front of everyone.

Stumbling in everyday situations isn’t fun. Obviously doing it in front of lots of other people can bring some laughs and embarrassment too.

God doesn’t want us to stumble when it comes to our decisions and in life. And one of the best ways to do that is by falling in love with God’s word or His law. The more we read our Bibles, the more we begin to understand what God is like. And as we do, it helps us not fall and stumble in life.

We all want that. We don’t want to make mistakes in life and stumble, fall, and mess things up. God shows us in this verse that if we read His word we won’t stumble in life and we will be at peace. Those things sound really good to me.

So I encourage you today to determine that you will make God’s word a priority in your life. Reading God’s word brings many benefits and will help you in life. So decide to make time each day to spend in Bible reading and prayer. You’ll be really glad you did.