Former Blackout Artist

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. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” – Jonah 1:4-6

A few days ago we read how Jonah, instead of obeying God’s command to go preach His coming judgment to the town of Nineveh, decided to go on holiday to Tarshish. But his disobedience would bring about the harshest of consequences.

There’s another story in the Bible that I’m reminded of when I come to this particular passage in Jonah 1:4-6. That story begins in Acts 27.

At first glance, the two stories seem remarkably alike. They both include violent storms crashing upon a ship at sea and pagan sailors panicking and fearing for their lives. Cargo is thrown overboard. Death appears certain. And in each vessel there is a servant of God.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Jonah is running from God. Paul is walking with Him.

Jonah’s presence brings danger to everyone aboard the ship. Paul’s presence becomes the very reason everyone onboard is spared. Jonah has to be awakened by a pagan captain and told to pray. Paul is the one praying, encouraging, and reminding frightened sailors of God’s promises. Jonah is silent while unbelievers lose hope. Paul speaks, and hopeless men find courage.

What made the difference? It wasn’t the storm. Rather, it was the direction both men were facing before the storm ever arrived.

Storms have a way of revealing what calm seas often hide. They expose whether we’re trusting God or resisting Him. They uncover whether our lives are pointing others toward Christ or away from Him.

That’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? When the storms of life hit your family, your workplace, your church, or your community, what kind of influence are you? Do people find hope because they see your confidence in Jesus? Or do they see the same fear, the same panic, the same despair that’s gripping everyone else?

Here’s some comforting truth for you: you don’t have to be perfect to be a powerful witness to somebody else. Paul wasn’t fearless because he was stronger than everyone else on that ship with him. He was fearless because he knew that God ruled the wind and the waves and was in complete control. Paul’s confidence rested not in the strength of the ship they were on, but in the faithfulness of the God he worshipped and served.

If you’re in a storm today, take heart in knowing that God is with you just as He was with Paul. He might not calm the storm immediately, but He will always remain faithful in the middle of it. And when your confidence is anchored in Him, your life becomes a steady witness to unsteady people in an even unsteadier world.

The world doesn’t need more Christians who are merely storm survivors. It needs Christ followers whose confidence in Christ is so steady that others begin asking them, “Where does that hope come from?”

Jesus entered the greatest storm ever known – not a storm of wind and waves, but the storm of God’s righteous judgment against our sin.