Jonah 1:4,5 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. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
It must have been a bad storm. These men were experienced, hardened sailors who had seen it all at sea. If they were scared, this could have been the first “perfect storm” since Noah’s flood. So they started the first interfaith prayer meeting in the Bible, each man crying out to his own god. As the ship groaned and creaked in howling wind and massive waves, and the men threw cargo overboard in a desperate attempt to save it, where was Jonah? On deck helping them? Confidently praying to His own God? Shaking with fear and paralyzed with deep conviction? No, he’s taking a nap down below…
How could anyone sleep through a storm like this — especially a prophet of the Most High? I see a few possibilities: one, Jonah was a prophet whose relationship with the Lord was so close he was used to trusting Him through all kinds of difficulties, so he was just abiding in his usual trust. Remember Yeshua (Jesus) also slept during a very bad storm on the Sea of Galilee. Or, maybe the hold of the ship was so deep and Jonah was so tired that he wasn’t aware of the grave danger up above; a perfectly natural explanation. And there’s one more possibility: Jonah’s disobedience made him vulnerable to the enemy. ( For example, I have at times been somehow induced into slumber when I’ve made a serious decision to spend time in prayer.)
We know for sure the enemy wants us to sleep while the world falls apart around us. His interests are served when we relax in our own eternal security while others are dying in the storms of this world. But Jonah’s apathy toward Nineveh morphed into one which actually threatened his own life, without his even being aware of it. He had the authority and capacity to save the others, but the enemy may have poured out on him such a spirit of apathy and deadening slumber that it required the desperate pagans, far more aware of the danger, to rouse the prophet back to his true calling.
Storms are brewing of every kind; social, economic, political, military. Houses are “burning”; ships are “sinking”. Many lives are falling apart. We might be weighed down and paralyzed by it all, or just deeply apathetic because they all deserve judgment while we await the “rapture”. But I don’t think the Lord wants us to sleep through these storms. At least, not with Jonah’s attitude.
So be awakened to your calling and sound the alarm! As the very prophetic words of Yeshua (Jesus) are coming to pass — it should be a wake-up call to us, for He told us when you see “all of these things” coming to pass, know that the Kingdom is near … even at the doors! [Matthew 24:33]
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]
Having spent over 20 years living in Israel’s Negev Desert, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of salt in maintaining proper hydration. “What in the world does salt have to do with grace and truth?”, you ask. Well, I’ll tell you.
During the first great awakening, revivalist George Whitfield was preaching to coal miners in England. He asked one man, “What do you believe?” “Well, I believe the same as the church.” “And what does the church believe?” “Well, they believe the same as me.” Seeing he was getting nowhere, Whitfield said, “And what is it that you both believe?” “Well, I suppose the same thing.”
The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It stretches over 4,000 miles (6,400 KM) and was built to protect China from the barbaric hordes to the north. The designers of the wall made it so high that it could not be scaled, so thick that it could not be penetrated, and so long that no one could go around it.
In today’s news, Bloomberg reported that according to a recent study, Americans can add as many as two years to the nation’s life expectancy if they stand up more often and watch fewer hours of television. What a concept — move around and you’ll live longer!
The word verily, in this verse, is the Hebrew word “emunah” (em-oo-nah). It also means faith or faithfully. When we trust in the Lord, He declares that He will faithfully feed us. How will we be fed?
A young couple was visiting a renown jewelry store in New York City. They browsed through cases of magnificent diamonds with their gleaming yellow light along with many other splendid precious stones. Among those beautiful stones, one in particular caught his wife’s eye.
In ancient times, lepers were social outcasts because of their highly contagious disease. In this passage, ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy and He graciously healed them.