Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where it was determined that your choices, your words or behavior, caused some serious problems for other people? I wonder how you dealt with that? Join me again in about 759bc on board a ship in the middle of a huge storm that is threatening the ship either with capsize or breaking apart. The crew has jettisoned the cargo and they are crying out to their gods, while they hold on for dear life.
One person on this storm ravaged ship is not crew, he’s a paying passenger and his name is Jonah. The crew gather round and through a process of casting lots they discern Jonah might be responsible for what they feel is their imminent death, thus they shout at Jonah over the noise of the storm: “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? What kind of people are you?” (Jonah 1:7,8) Jonah was in trouble and he faced the very same decision many of us have faced in similar situations when trouble is brewing and questions are flying and we know we caused the problem! What have you done in those situations, my friends?
As the waves crashed over the side of the ship, the wind ripped at the sails, and the ship lurched from side to side Jonah was in trouble. This violent storm was his fault and he knew it. Jonah was running away from God and God was running after Jonah! Sometimes fear causes us to finally speak the truth and in the raging storm Jonah blurted out: “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9) That was more than fear, that was courage, do you agree?
The record says the sailors were terrified by what Jonah claimed about his God but because the storm was getting stronger and fearing for their lives they shouted above the noise of the storm: “What shall we do to you to make the storm calm down for us?” Jonah had evidently told the sailors that he was running away from his God, but I doubt the sailors could have imagined Jonah’s response: “Pick me up and throw me into the sea and the sea will become calm! I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” (Jonah 1:12)
Now let’s just pause here for a few seconds in this raging storm because what Jonah just said is something very, very rarely said, but something that should be said much more often, do you agree? I imagine you have been hurt in your life but the person who hurt you has never acknowledged the pain they caused you. Perhaps they fully intended to hurt you, perhaps it was a mistake. Maybe it was many years ago, maybe it was yesterday.
But our hearts get wounded quite easily don’t they, and unless the offender apologizes and we forgive them, we carry a wound that often reopens when harsh words are again spoken or promises are broken. I’ve been reading an important book lately, recommended by a friend, and if you have wounds and the person who hurt you has never asked for your forgiveness, then I recommend this book: “Forgiving what you can’t Forget” by Lysa Terkeurst.
Now let’s step back into the storm raging on the Mediterranean Sea. The ship is nearly capsized, the sailors are terrified, and Jonah has just told them to throw him overboard because he’s the storm causing problem. But instead the crew grabbed the oars and tried to row back toward land, but it was a fruitless effort as the storm seemed to intensify by the minute. So they grabbed Jonah, cried out to God asking for forgiveness, and flung their passenger Jonah overboard, into the raging sea!
My guess is they’d never done that or even thought about doing such a thing in any previous storm and I’m sure they’d weathered many storms! Within seconds Jonah disappeared below the waves! And suddenly the wind and rain stopped, the waves calmed down and the storm was gone! The record says: “At this the sailors greatly feared the LORD and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.” (Jonah 1:14-16)
Now I don’t know if these sailors had ever met a Hebrew nor had they ever heard of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but with Jonah having only spent a day or two on that ship and his clear proclamation of his allegiance to Almighty God, and with the miracle of the storm subsiding, it seems these men worshiped the God of Israel whom they are encountering for the first time in this storm!
I don’t know about you my friends, but the thought of being thrown overboard in a raging storm is terrifying to me. I can swim, but the thought of drowning in such a ferocious storm nearly overwhelms me. But perhaps worse than drowning is the picture I see in my mind of what actually happened to Jonah as he thrashed about in the waves trying to keep himself afloat: “Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of this great fish three days and three nights!” (Jonah 1:17)
NO my friends, I can’t explain it! I presume this was a God provided fish unlike anything else that has ever swam in the sea. Large enough that it swallowed Jonah whole and large enough that it had enough oxygen in its belly to keep Jonah alive for three days! I assume it was pitch black inside that fish and probably was not a clean and tidy place to be. Unable to see anything, I wonder where Jonah thought he was and as he felt around inside that fish, what did he feel? Was he able to move in there? It must certainly have been claustrophobic and the smell must have been putrid. But whatever it was like inside that whale of a fish, Jonah did the only thing he could do… he cried out to God in prayer!
When was the last time you found yourself in such a desperate place my friends? What did you do? Jonah gave this report of what he did: “In my distress I called to the LORD and He answered me. From the deep in the realm of the dead I called for help and YOU listened to my cry.” (Jonah 2:1,2)
Are you fully convinced that no matter where you find yourself, no matter how deep the pit, how strong the chains, how despicable the people who are harming you; no matter how much you are hurting yourself, God is ALWAYS ready to hear your cry for help and He will take action!
That’s the truthful claim of Psalm 139 isn’t it? “YOU have searched me, LORD and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, LORD… Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your Presence? If I go up to the highest heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there…” (Psalm 139:1-8)
Are you celebrating the wonderful, powerful truth reflected in this great Psalm 139 my friends? I urge you to read the whole Psalm or listen to it on audio Bible. And as you read Psalm 139 then do as Jonah did, cry out to God and praise Him that He knows everything about you and me. He sees us no matter where we are and now matter what the situation we find ourselves in, and He LOVES us there and He is ready to reach into our situation to draw us close to Himself! Are you ready today for God’s reach to you?
Here’s a great song to help us celebrate this and join me again tomorrow back in the belly of that great fish with Jonah to see what God will do!
Today’s Scripture: Jonah 1:8-2:2 & Psalm 139.
Choose below to read or listen.
Jonah 1:8-2:2
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Psalm 139
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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