According to the Hebrew/Old Testament Bible, there were many gods worshipped, however, many acknowledged that there was only one God. The concept of who God is is a complex theological question that still varies across different beliefs and cultures. Here’s some information about God in Christian thought:

In Western Christian thought, God is often described as having three essential qualities: omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful), and omnibenevolence (supremely good).

In Christian thought, God is seen as the creator and overseer of life, who saves, sustains, guides, provides for, calls, and cares for people. Additionally, the Bible describes God as everlasting, spirit, love, truth, and the Creator of the ends of earth.

In the Old Testament story of Jonah, “The Word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me but Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of God (Jonah 1:1-2).”

The sailors threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. Jonah was running away from the task that God had given him. Over the years, we too have had many messages of a need to change.  Unlike the Ninevites who immediately repented and changed, we seem to have gotten worse.,

The sailors on the ship, during a violent storm, were afraid and each cried out to his own god. They urged Jonah to pray to “his God” (meaning the God of the Hebrews) to calm the sea, as they believed Jonah’s disobedience was the cause of the storm; the captain specifically told Jonah to “get up and call on your God!”

What is the moral of the story of Jonah? The moral of the story of Jonah isn’t just about the consequences of showing disobedience to God, as Jonah did initially. The story shows us that God’s love, grace, and compassion extend to everyone—even the wicked Ninevites who Jonah doesn’t believe are worthy of salvation.

If you are deeply concerned about how you and your loved ones are going to cope in the year 2025, may I suggest that you pray to Jonah’s God?