Jonah 1:9

Jonah 1:9 says, And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.  Jonah identified himself as one of God's people by birth, a Hebrew.  We cannot identify ourselves as God's by nationality.  We can only become His by faith in Christ.  Jonah said he feared the Lord, but not enough to keep him from running from Him.  We today may live in fear of God, but that is not what we are called to do.  We are called to a loving relationship with God as His children.  We aren't called to act out of fear of God punishing us if we don't do what He calls us to do, but to act out of a sincere desire to please Him. Jonah recognized God as the Creator of all, including the sea they were being tossed about on.  In our storms of life today, we need to understand that we serve an all-powerful God.  He will be with us through the storm and keep us safe, whether in this life on earth or its continuation in heaven.  If we, as His followers, are running from Him, though, the consequences may dire here on earth.  Jonah had not stopped being one often God's chosen people, but he had become a disobedient child of God.