Practical Proverbial, from Jonah, 18 February 2021 Today’s topic: When the Storm Hits

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 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. Jonah 1:4-5 (NIV).

These verses bring up a couple of different thoughts.   One is the thought of Jesus, sleeping in a boat while his disciples panic in a storm.   The verses naturally evoke that thought because the situations seem similar.   Except that Jonah isn’t Jesus; he can’t save anyone (though he’ll try).   Still, the thought makes sense.

But the bigger thought that comes to mind is panic.   All of us panic.   It’s an psychological reaction when something confronts us with immediate dread or unthinkable fears.   An event throws us off our game and our meter pegs.  Yet panic is hysterical, unnatural.   It’s a primal reaction by creatures who’ve supposedly evolved beyond our primal urges. 

Or have we?

In this part of the story, God sends a great storm to stop Jonah from fleeing.   He does it knowing what will happen; He does it knowing that the sailors onboard will panic but that Jonah won’t.    Have you considered that maybe God sends storms, or at least allows them, into our lives to get us off the dime?

Maybe you’re caught in a sin; maybe you’re resisting doing the right thing.   Maybe you’re ambivalent about a matter of faith; maybe you’re lukewarm on taking a stand.   There could be a thousand different maybes affecting you right now, and if a storm happens, what will you do?

Will you run around and pray to false gods?   Will you look for someone, something else to blame?   Will you throw away things to lighten your load?   Will you panic?  Or will you chill out, take a nap, and wake up to find that God is there with you despite how you ran to hide?   Fact is, God is with us at all times, in all places.   Our geo-location is irrelevant to Him:   He’s here before, and He’ll be with us no matter what.

What will come to your mind when something unexpected happens to you?

Panic doesn’t help anything because the world will always hit us with unexpected crises, unforeseeable losses, and changes.   Yet when those happen, God will still be God, Jesus will still be Jesus, and we’ll need to rely on Him more than ever.   Will you?

For further reading: Psalm 107:23-26, :Luke 8:22-25, Acts 27:18-19, Jonah 1:6

Lord Jesus, I panic far too often.   Too often, it’s my go-to emotion.   Forgive me for this selfish, short-sighted reaction.   Abide with me and calm me when the world tries to close in and spin me around.

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