Wake up
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. 5 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.
I have openly shared of my struggles with anxiety and depression. The roller coaster of life’s emotions, the highs and lows that take us from one day to the next. You don’t even have to possess the torment of depression to possess the stresses that take you down those roads of seemingly self-pity. Of dropping into the pit of the “why” or the “what next”. So many times the best escape is to shut down; to lay your head down and escape with sleep. Anxieties may inhibit sleep, but once it moves into the depression you can lay your head down anywhere and rest. I cannot help but think Jonah felt this pressure; and escaped into the ships hull to run from it and sleep. If it was rooted in fear of God, of the sea, of his next step in life, he would have been pacing the hull, not sleeping in it.
I am at a place in my life like Jonah; feeling a call on my life to go, and trying to prepare to be obedient. I can see the storms in my life that God is using to get my attention, to steer my ship, to prepare me for what He has planned. Some days the pressure gets so great I too must escape into the hull of the ship. Where do you go when God starts pressing on you? Sleep may be a means of temporary rest, but He will be there to remind you when you awake. The captain of the ship awoke Jonah to remind him. Jonah 1:6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” Is it possible that in your own life, that in your running from God you have them in your boat too? Are those around you suffering because of your disobedience? I have asked myself these questions.
The ships captain and crew were doing all they could do to lighten the load to keep the ship from sinking. They were trying in all their power to thwart the sovereign will of God on what He had planned for Jonah. They did not realize that God was even using their situation to draw them into the knowledge of Him. They came to know Him on the sea that day. Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. God is likely at work in many areas of your life, and those he has placed in your life’s circle. It is impossible for us to understand how He even takes our mistakes and turns them into victories, but if my God can breath a star into existence, the plans and details of my life define simplicity.
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