“We were doomed, all of us!” The old man dipped his head for a moment and stared into the dying embers of the fire where we were all gathered. “It was a storm like nothing I had seen in all my years sailing those seas.”
His eyes met mine. I could see the light from the orange embers on his face.
“I knew I was going to die that night,” he said.
“Obviously, you didn’t.”
He grinned and nodded. “Except for that one man onboard, my bones would now be resting on the bottom of the sea.”
I raised an eyebrow. “He saved you?”
“Yes, but in ways you can’t see.” He reached for the poker and stirred the dying embers and half-burnt branches. Small flames began to rise.
“I was already dead when I boarded that ship.” He pushed a small log into the flames. “There was something about that storm. It spoke to me.”
We were silent for a moment, transfixed by the growing flames.
“What happened?” I said.
He smiled. “I discovered the God of Heaven and earth that night. The one true God, unlike any of the gods so many worship. They are worthless idol’s compared to this God.”
“You said you’re alive today because of someone onboard the ship that night,” I pressed.
The old sailor nodded. “Because he disobeyed God, I now believe in the one true God.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Let me tell you about Jonah,” he said as he poked at the fire. I could feel the warmth of the fire as the flames grew taller.
Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. – Jonah 1:16, NASB
#WednesdayWalk Through the Bible — an exploration of what unknown people might have seen or felt when they witnessed the events in the Bible. This post is from the perspective of a man who reminisces about being on the ship with Jonah as described in Jonah 1.
© 2026 Chris G Thelen
140 Character Christian 