Toss Your Jonah

When I was about 19 years old, I joined a ministry team that toured the country performing music and drama pieces for high schools and junior high schools.  It was a daunting schedule.  Being with the same 11 people day in and day out got a bit unnerving. So it was important to find ways to relieve stress and entertain ourselves.  One of the ways the guys did this was to participate in what they affectionately called a "timmy toss".  Mark Wheeler, a drummer with our group, was the youngest member and was given the name, "lil' Timmy".  When "lil' Timmy" would be a sleep, the guys would sneak up on him, yank up the mattress and fling him off....hence, the "timmy toss".  We all thought it was hilarious....although I am sure Mark was not amused!


Thinking back on this tour ritual, I was reminded of someone else who was familiar with being tossed around....Jonah.  We're probably all familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale that swallowed him.  When the story is told, we tend to focus on the whale part of the story.  Yes, Jonah was swallowed by a whale where he survived for three days. The whale then puked him up on the shore after, what I am sure was a big case of indigestion.  But we hardly ever think about the men on the boat that tossed Jonah overboard.


These sea men were going about their normal day when Jonah hitched a ride with them.  The ship gets out to sea only to be hit with a violent storm that was starting to tear the ship apart.  Let me stop there and ask you this: Have you been in the middle of a violent storm that threatened to tear you apart?  Maybe you just came through one.  Maybe you are in the middle of one right now.  But I am sure that we have all been in that boat, watching the waves hit us over and over again.  The sky is so dark that we think we will never see the sun.  We suffer from sea sickness.  It takes all our strength to not get thrown overboard.  We barely hang on.  Does that sound familiar to you?  That is exactly what the sea men were experiencing with Jonah on their ship.


The sailors asked Jonah,  “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) " (Jonah 1:10)  The sailors had figured out that Jonah was the cause of their great storm.  When we find ourselves being hit with the waves of trials, struggles, and tough times, do we have the wherewith all to identify the cause of the storm?  Yes, sometime life happens and there is no one to blame or no finger to point.  But I would guess, because it is true for me, that at least 50% of the time, the storm slaps us because we have sinned.  That was the case with Jonah.  He was called to go to Nineveh and he basically told God to hush and ran the opposite direction.  Because of his sin, the storms came.  And the funny thing is....the sailors, that weren't even followers of God, knew it! 


With the storm increasing in intensity, Jonah tells the sailors in verse 12:
  “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”  But the sailors had another idea. They decided to not throw Jonah over, but to try to row back to land.  How sweet of the sailors to want to save Jonah's life.  But that is not what God wanted. And what happened?  In verse 13 we read that the storm grew worse. 


Are you starting to see your own patterns in this story?  I am! I sin.  I run from God because I am a chicken and don't want to do what He has told me to do.  God tries to get my attention with a storm.  There are consequences for my actions and I need to acknowledge what I have done wrong.  However, instead of getting rid of that problem or sin in my heart, I try to fix it myself or go on thinking I can hang on to that filthy mouth, or bad attitude, or a couple of cuss words here and there.  What's wrong with hanging on to a couple of lies?  For some, they realize the cause of the storm is an affair, pornography, drinking, drugs, work, etc.  But they choose to row to shore instead of giving it up. 


The story of Jonah shows us that simply trying to row to shore isn't what God wants.  He clearly shows his opinion on the sailors' decision by increasing the storm.  Verse 13 says that the storm "grew even wilder than before."  We can't cry out to God to lessen or even cancel the storm when we refuse to give up the very sin that got us there.


But look at what the sailors finally did.  In verse 15, "Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm."   They got it right!  They tossed Jonah overboard and guess what?.....the sea grew calm.  Here is the lesson I want to give you today:  What is your Jonah?  What in your life needs to be tossed out?  What needs to change?  What do you need to give up?
If you are in the middle of a raging sea of trouble and tribulation and you feel like life keeps hitting you with blow after blow....maybe it's time to recognize your "Jonah" and toss it overboard.  Don't try to hang on to it and row back to shore.  Don't try to fix it yourself or come up with your own solution.  Kneel in the midst of your storm and ask God to show you if you are harboring a "Jonah" that is causing this storm.  Identify who or what it is.  And then TOSS IT!