The Storm (Jonah 1:4-16)

Last week we had a small windstorm sweep through town. It wasn't as bad as the one back in September, but it blew some trees over and knocked out power for many. Often when a storm comes, we brace ourselves and prepare. At our house we got out candles and I made sure any patio furniture was as secure as possible.



In our text today, I can't help but notice something I think is very significant.

THE LORD SENT A GREAT WIND ON THE SEA...

Notice that the storm was from God. Something significant happened when the storm hit - Jonah was no longer in control. He had run away. He had paid the fare. He had gone to sleep. He was in control. He was calling the shots.



Then came the storm.

From God.



Storms strip us of control. Storms take away everything but the necessary. Storms aren't fun. Storms aren't nice. Storms are destructive...but when they are from God, they destroy what we don't need. The cargo is gone. The fare is lost. The ship is about to fall apart. The sailors' very lives are at stake.

"Storm is the environment in which we either lose our lives or are saved; there is no cool, safe ledge on which to perch as spectators." (Eugene Peterson)

For Jonah, the storm destroyed him. But that is not always a bad thing. It is when we are destroyed (when we die is the way Jesus put it) that we are able to be reborn. Storms reveal the basic realities of our lives. When we can let go of that, we are able to embrace God's reality.



What storms has God sent in the past? Have I learned from them? What parts of my life have been destroyed in storms? What parts need to be destroyed and, like Jonah, I need God to step in.



Finally, it is interesting to me that when it came time to finally do what needed to be done to stop the storm, Jonah wouldn't do it. He told the sailors that they would have to throw him overboard. Could he not just jump? Why lay that guilt on them?



I wonder how many times I am just like that. I know what needs to be done, but I am still unwilling to trust God and do the right thing. I want someone else to step up and do what I am unwilling to do.



What do you know needs to be done but you are unwilling to do it? What do you know God is calling you to do but you are simply choosing not to do it? Have you been "cleansed" in a storm or is one coming?



Under the Mercy,
Jason