I recently heard a sermon on chapter 1 of Jonah. Most of us are familiar with Jonah’s story, but to recap—The LORD tells Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and preach a message of judgment and repentance. Instead of obeying, Jonah attempts to flee from the LORD. We find him in a ship on the sea in the midst of a terrible storm and the sailors have discovered that Jonah is the cause of this storm:
Jonah 1:10-13 “Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.”
One takeaway from the message has continued to stick with me—the initial response of the sailors after hearing who Jonah was and who he worshiped. “…the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.” These pagan sailors gave their very best effort to bring Jonah, the cause of their current troubles, safely back to shore. And yet, their best efforts were hopelessly ineffective. It’s quite possible that they all would have perished if they continued this course of action. But then we read in verses 14-16:
“Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”
There are so many different applications we can draw from this and the remainder of the book of Jonah. However, I would like to keep our attention to the initial response of the sailors because it seems very relevant for our lives today. How often are Christians like these sailors—our first response to storms being that of rowing harder and exerting more effort? That might look like trying to fast more, or pray harder, or read your Bible more, or listen to more sermons, or have more faith, or…on and on and on. Perhaps it’s the conversations we have with ourselves—"Why can’t I stop looking at or doing that?” “I need to do this more.” “I’ll never get it right.” I could go on, but I think you get the idea. As Christians, our first impulse is usually to double down and try harder. Whether we consciously say it or not, we think that our efforts will put us in good standing with God. Our efforts will make this situation go away. Our efforts will fix whatever has gone wrong. And I don’t know about you, but I find that cycle exhausting. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually.
But it can actually be worse than that! Not only do we often try to row our way out of the storms of life, but we can unknowingly give non-Christians the idea that a relationship with the Triune God is a matter of human effort. Think about the things we often tell people in their struggles: “You’ve got this!” “Just keep going…things will get better.” “Have you tried ______?” “Maybe you should read this book…”
Though usually well-intentioned, these platitudes do not address the vast chasm between sinful humanity and a holy God. Instead, these statements are essentially handing the person an oar and saying, “Row harder!” They offer no hope, no good news. Through these statements, we can inadvertently encourage them to continue in an impossible task—like the sailors in the story of Jonah.
So, where do we find hope and good news? Look back at verse 14: “Therefore they called out to the LORD…” Here, we find the kind of desperate cry associated with complete surrender. A cry that acknowledges complete helplessness while at the same time acknowledging the overwhelming sovereignty of the Creator and Sustainer of creation. When was the last time you cried out to the Lord, acknowledging His supreme power and reign? If the answer is “Never!” then I would encourage you to consider your position before God. The Bible clearly shows that you and I are in desperate need of a Savior—someone who can bridge the vast distance between us and Holy God. And in the Bible we find that God, in the person of the Son (Jesus) does just that—making a way of reconciliation between man and God. Let me encourage you further…don’t harden your heart, don’t keep trying to row your way out of the storm. Lay down the oars and call on the Lord…Today is the day of salvation. Won’t you trust in Jesus today?
Perhaps you have already placed your trust in Jesus and are justified with God. But you’re struggling…with sin…with praying…with reading the Word…with living out your faith. But here is the amazing news! God does not expect you to bear the burden of becoming like Christ on your own. I am sure of this: he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil 1:6; 2:13) Brothers and sisters, we do not serve a God who is far off. We have available to us intimate communion with the Father, through Jesus the Son and by His Holy Spirit that lives in us! For we did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6)
Our culture would have us believe that we can succeed if we just try harder, sleep less, work more, and follow this or that expert. Let us instead be counter-cultural, following the example of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
