~ written by Connie Dunmyer
Do you ever wonder if you are where you belong, or at least going in the right direction? Sometimes I think “Have I missed my destiny?”, “Am I going in the direction God wants for me?”, or “What am I missing?” Are you ever afraid of what tomorrow will bring?
Jonah tried to create his own destiny – his own direction. He knew what God wanted, and he said “Nope – gonna go the opposite way.”
In Jonah 1, God said
2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it…3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord… and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Has God ever said “Go” or “Stay”? And when that has happened, did it ever logically seem like a good idea? I can tell you from personal experience, human logic is rarely at play where and when God calls. So Jonah decides to “flee from the Lord”. Been there, done that. And “that” does not work!
There is no escape when our Lord speaks. . . God speaks in the language you know best — not through your ears, but through your circumstances. … Never allow this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray. ~ Oswald Chambers
So Jonah flees onto a boat. And the boat is in the midst of a storm that is tearing the boat apart. Everyone is in a panic EXCEPT for Jonah. The captain, himself, runs to Jonah and tells him to “Wake up!”
6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Jonah wasn’t fearful, because Jonah had given up. He was depressed. He didn’t care if he lived or died. That’ll happen when we walk away from God.
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not…
So these apparently pagan men care more about Jonah’s life than Jonah did and tried like crazy to not kill him. And even when they did, finally, throw him overboard they prayed to our God, Jehovah – yes, pagans.
14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”
Now let’s visit another boat, also stuck in a storm:
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Compare and contrast the juxtaposition of Jonah sleeping in his storm-slain boat – and Jesus sleeping in His storm-slain boat. Jonah didn’t “have Jesus” – he was running from God. He didn’t care if he died. And so the answer was “sacrifice himself”. He was playing the martyr. I know that feeling all too well ... “oh, woe is me”.
Jesus was also asleep. But not out of depression. He was sleeping in faith. He knew Who He was and Whose He was. Both Jonah and Jesus knew the ultimate solution required sacrifice. But Jonah’s thought was death in sacrifice – and Jesus’ thought is life from His sacrifice. When we have Jesus in the boat with us – our storm-slain boats of life – because Jesus IS our sacrifice, our only answer, our only thought need be to simply “HAVE FAITH” – to not be afraid.
What happened when disciples awakened Jesus? In my mind’s eye I can see him kind of leaning up on His elbow, rubbing His eyes and yawning. Maybe He even comments on how the rocking boat helped Him sleep like a baby. Or maybe there was a crack of lightning and He’s like “Oooo – good one!” Ultimately he looks at the storm, looks back at the terrified disciples, and then tells the storm to chill. Imagine Jesus' eyes looking at you and me. What does he see?
Who am I in this picture?
Am I Jonah – running away?
Am I a pagan – about to turn to God for help?
Am I a doubting disciple – certain that Jesus has forgotten me and I’m gonna sink?
Or am I “Jesus” – Jesus IN me – filled with the Spirit so that I can wake up and speak to the storm itself “Peace! I am still (quiet, calm, at peace) in Him” and pull up a pillow, rest in Him, and take a faith nap.
We all have dreams and promises from God we’re believing for. We start off excited. We’re sailing along fine, making progress, then a storm arises — an unexpected challenge, a sickness, a breakup, we lose a loved one, a contract we were counting on doesn’t go through. It’s easy to get discouraged and think that it’s never going to happen. But God doesn’t promise something and then change His mind. He doesn’t put a dream in your heart and then take it back. What He starts, He finishes. You may not see a way, but God has ways we’ve never thought of. Storms come to us all. It might be your health, your marriage, your finances. The good news is that God is in control of the winds. He’s in control of what’s trying to stop you. All He has to do is speak the word and calm the storm. Will you trust Him even though the winds are howling and you don’t see any sign of it improving? God is directing the winds, and He’s going to get you to where you’re supposed to be. ~ Joel Osteen
“Father, thank You that the winds and waves that I face today cannot stop Your plan for my life. The winds and waves must still obey You. Thank You that my purpose is firmly and securely anchored in You. I believe that these storms cannot defeat me and instead are pushing me into my destiny, Your will for my life.”