Faith Within The Storm

Jonah 1:4-6;9,12 (NLT)
But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

In today’s reading, there are a number of interesting observations. Jonah’s ship was hit by such powerful winds sent by God such that the crew were afraid for their lives. The passage tells us that Jonah was asleep throughout this, whereas those around were terrified and even angry that he was sleeping and not scared. 

This is reminiscent of Jesus asleep in the boat when it was struck by a storm which terrified the disciples. This parallel situation reveals the heart of Jonah as a man of faith. He knew that although God might cause disruption, it would not actually harm him nor the crew. Moreover, although intuitively, he knew that the storm was being sent due to his own actions (v.12), he did not reveal this to the other crew members. Instead, the crew members drew lots to identify the culprit. 

This reminds me of times in my own journey when I might know intuitively that I am not going the way God wants me to go, and yet it takes the voice of others around me to highlight my own failings. Despite his faith, Jonah lacked the humility to own up to his shortcomings and lacked the courage to walk in God’s will. This story reminds us that we can be people of faith who fail but who also neglect to own up to and correct our ways. 

Prayer - Lord thank you that you are a God of mercy. Although we can trust in your goodness, help us not to need disruption in our lives to recognise when we are failing. Help us repent and turn back to you when we need to correct our ways.