What Happens When the Religious Person Is the One Who Won’t Listen?

Jonah's storm, the sailors, and our ability to miss what God is doing

By Pastor John Erickson

Have you ever driven somewhere and then realized you barely remember the trip?

You know you stopped at some lights. You know you made the turns. But somehow your brain was operating on autopilot while your mind was somewhere else entirely.

I have done more than forget the trip. Once, while working at the church building, I went out to run an errand. Afterward, instead of returning to the building, I drove home. We lived only about a mile away, and apparently my brain decided that was close enough.

I pulled into the driveway and stopped to say hello to Gina and the kids. When I was asked why I was home, I had to admit I had arrived by accident. My mind had been so busy that I forgot where I meant to go.

I wonder whether we can live parts of our spiritual lives that way.

We know the language. We know the routine. We can go through the motions without noticing that our hearts are moving in a completely different direction.

And then I read Jonah 1, and I see a prophet who has managed to fall asleep while everything around him is falling apart.

A Storm With Some Very Strange Characters

God tells Jonah to go east toward Nineveh. Jonah goes the other direction and boards a ship.

Then the Lord sends a violent storm. The sailors are terrified. They throw cargo overboard. They cry out to their gods. They do everything they can to keep the ship afloat.

And where is Jonah?

Down below. Sleeping.

That ought to strike us as a little funny-and a little alarming.

The prophet of the living God is sleeping through the crisis. The sailors, who don't share Jonah's faith, are the ones showing urgency.

The captain finally wakes Jonah up and asks him to pray. Imagine having to tell the prophet that maybe now would be a good time to talk to God.

Jonah tells them he worships the Lord, the God who made the sea and dry land.

Okay. That's good theology. But he's currently trying to escape that very God by taking a boat across the sea.

Knowing the right answer isn't the same as living it.

The Outsiders Keep Acting Better Than Jonah

Here's one of the ways the book turns our assumptions upside down.

The sailors begin asking questions about what is happening. Eventually Jonah tells them to throw him into the sea, because he knows the storm is connected to his flight.

But they don't immediately do it. Instead, they row harder, trying to reach land. They are reluctant to harm him.

Think about the contrast.

Jonah has refused to show mercy to the people God sent him to warn. These pagan sailors are trying to preserve Jonah's life.

The man we expected to admire looks increasingly selfish. The people we might have dismissed show a surprising concern for somebody else.

I think Jonah wants us to notice that.

It's easy to be so sure we are on God's side that we stop paying attention to the goodness, courage, or compassion of people who don't belong to our religious group.

And it's possible to have plenty of religious language while being badly out of step with God's heart.

Sometimes We Would Rather Go Down Than Turn Around

The sailors finally throw Jonah overboard, and the sea becomes calm. God provides a great fish to swallow him.

We often treat the fish as the main event. But the fish isn't the main character. It's part of God's relentless pursuit of a prophet who refuses to listen.

And notice something interesting: Jonah would apparently rather be thrown into the sea than willingly travel to Nineveh.

I can't help wondering how often our own pride becomes that stubborn.

We know a conversation needs to happen, but we refuse to have it. We know somebody deserves an apology, but we keep waiting for them to apologize first. We know God is challenging the way we treat people, but we're comfortable with our version of the story.

So we sail in the opposite direction and tell ourselves that everything is fine.

Good Theology Must Become Good Living

Jonah has the right vocabulary. He knows who created the sea. He knows God's character. Later he can pray words that sound an awful lot like the Psalms.

But none of that automatically makes him obedient, compassionate, or humble.

That's an uncomfortable warning for those of us who care about learning Scripture. And we should care about learning Scripture. Deeply.

The goal, though, isn't simply to become impressive at Bible trivia. It's to become people who reflect the God we say we know.

So here's a question worth sitting with: where might I be asleep to something God wants me to notice?

Maybe the people I keep judging are showing more compassion than I am. Maybe my actions are headed west while my words keep talking about Nineveh.

The good news is that God hasn't given up on Jonah.

And God is patient enough to wake us up too.