Dear Father, I have questions regarding Jonah's mindset and his request to be thrown into the sea. After he fled by ship to Tarshish, away from Your instruction to minister to the people of Nineveh, the sea became tempestuous. In an attempt to resolve the crisis, he told the men, "Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you..." Into a tempestuous sea? What inspired such a mindset? Did he not think they would actually throw him overboard? Or was he so hell bent on escape that, if escape was no longer possible, he preferred death? Certainly, this occurrence was part of a greater plan in Your purpose. However, this illustration has me pondering the tendency of a man whose heart is burdened by the guilt of sin to compel himself to bear the weight of his own shortcomings, as though self-inflicted suffering could atone for his transgressions. We encounter such situations when we are led to believe that our failures have placed us beyond Your mercy. Rather than run to You, like Jonah, we run from You. For we would rather be cast into a tempestuous sea than seek Your mercy, as though judgment were easier to receive than grace. How often are we trapped in the guilt of sin? We do not talk enough about how some of us have distanced ourselves from You because we feel unworthy to receive mercy. Yet we fail to ask ourselves, "If worthiness were the requirement, why did Jesus come to die?" Father, sin is never encouraged, but neither is guilt the answer. Mercy is. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #guilt #mercy #condemnation #conviction