“And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
Jonah 1 : 12 (New King James Version)
I’m sure a lot of us would have grown up in Sunday School listening to the story of Jonah. I remember even singing songs regarding this
“Jonah Jonah have you heard ,
Said the the Lord ‘go preach my word’
Jonah said its not for me ,
Took a boat and went to sea”
That’s exactly the background to what the current context is… The Lord asked Jonah to go to Nineveh and speak to the people there for they were dwelling in wickedness. However Jonah decided not to do it and he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid his fare and started his journey to Tarshish. Now we read in Jonah 1 : 4 “But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up”
I want to run a parallel here…so keep this picture in your mind and turn your Bibles with me to Matthew 8 : 23-27 .Here the disciples are travelling with Christ in a boat and we read in verse 24 “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He was asleep.”
How many of us run into sudden tempests, storms in our lives ? I’m sure all of us do. Suddenly out of nowhere this problem or situation arises and we think ‘we are gonna sink”… sometimes it not just us only … it affects those around us .
When we look at the reference from Matthew we see that what was needed to calm the storm was FAITH ! Believing and knowing that our God is above every situation and every circumstance. KNOWING THAT WHEN HE IS WITH US THE STORM WILL BE CALMED !!
Now lets get back to Jonah …. Here, what was needed to calm the storm was ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SIN ! Jonah knew it was because he disobeyed God. He acknowledged his sin … he was repentant in his heart and he told the people in the ship to throw him into the sea.
But you know what happened ? Our God is so merciful … we don’t deserve it at all …but He is so gracious… We read in verse 17 “Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah . And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights”
Bottom line … God will calm the storm. However we need to understand that there are times when its our sin that causes the storm in the first place ! We are not where God wants us to be… We need to repent…. And we need to be willing to say “Pick me up and throw me into the sea” . You know what that line signifies ? A heart that says “I’ll do anything to get right with God ! “
Our God is merciful … He already has a fish that’s prepared ! It might take sometime to get back to Nineveh to complete God’s purpose. But if we humble ourselves and cry out to the Lord , our God is mighty to save. We read in Jonah 2: 9 “But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed, Salvation is of the Lord”
Verse 10 , “So the LORD spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land”
God Bless
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