Distance Yourself From the Storm

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” … Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. Jonah 1:11, 15.

This narrative of Jonah is compelling.

There are many parallels to the life of Christ.

But that is not what I was thinking about as I was reminded of this narrative today.

Jonah sinned and ran from the task God gave him to do.

He was instructed by God to go to Nineveh but, instead,

he headed in the opposite direction.

To get Jonah’s attention, God creates a storm, and it is a doozy.

It got everyone’s attention except Jonah’s.

He was sleeping.

Jonah’s disobedience stole everyone’s peace.

We all know people who are being disobedient to God.

Often their rebellion takes our joy.

We’ve all been there, at one time or another.

Whether it’s at school, work, home, or wherever we get dragged into their storm.

We didn’t create the wind, and we aren’t the reason there is a storm.

We are innocent bystanders who get sucked into someone else’s tempest.

When this happens, sometimes the only thing we can do is what the people on the ship did to Jonah.

They threw him overboard.

It was not their first choice, but it became the only option.

For their own peace and safety, they had to distance themselves from the problem, Jonah.

Occasionally, we have to choose to distance ourselves from people

who are stealing our calmness because of their storm.

Often the problem is that it’s not always easy.

We may like the person, they may work with us, or we may feel bad for them.

But until we can distance ourselves from what is stealing our peace,

God can’t work with them without us getting pulled into the situation.

The sea did not grow calm until they distanced themselves from Jonah.

Likewise, we may need to get out of the picture

so that God can deal with that person’s sin,

and only then will our peace be restored.

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