“Sleeping During The Storm” - 2/8/25
When the tempest raged on the Mediterranean, the mariners on the ship scrambled, trying to keep the boat afloat (Jonah 1:4-5). They then came to Jonah and awoke him from sleep, demanding he call upon Jehovah as they had been calling upon their gods in the hope that this storm might assuage.
Can you imagine someone sleeping when the storm was raging like this? Why was he not awakened by the winds and waves? Why was he not awakened by the sailor’s cries? We are never told why, only that it happened. He was asleep while everything was falling apart around him (Jonah 1:4)!
Friends, I am concerned that this is happening today with Christians. There are those whose marriages are falling apart. Are we asleep to this, or are we trying to show them that Christ is the answer for our lives and our marriages (Eph. 5:23-32; Matt. 6:33)? People are losing their souls in sin and error (Ezek. 18:20; Jas. 1:15). Are we asleep to them and their conditions, or are we awake and showing them the way to salvation in Christ (Jn. 14:6; I Pet. 3:21)? Remember, we are to love our fellow man (Matt. 7:12). We are to show concern for them and especially their souls (Gal. 6:1-2). We must wake up and show folks the truth before it is too late (Heb. 3:7-8)!
Just like the mariners, people suffer from personal storms and do not see a way out. Are we asleep to their troubles? People are asking for help and expect those of us who are Christians to have an answer. Are we providing folks with the answer? Do we care? Jonah was asleep in the boat, oblivious to the dangers surrounding him. Let us not be like that today!
The apostle Paul told the Roman Christians (and us by application), “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
Yes, it is “high time” we woke up! Satan has control of this world (Jn. 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; Eph. 2:2), and humanity suffers as a result. We, who are Christians, know the answer for life now and for life to come (I Tim. 4:8). Are we listening? Are we doing our part to instruct folks? In Jonah’s case, the ship’s captain woke Jonah to tell him to pray (Jonah 1:6). The world today wants us to do the same. Are we praying for the world’s condition? Are we praying for open doors for the gospel (Col. 4:3; Eph. 6:18-19; II Thess. 3:1-2)? Are we praying for relief?
Paul wrote the Thessalonians (and us) to wake up and not sleep in these times. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thess. 5:4-9).
Brethren, it is high time to wake up and see what is happening! Don’t sleep, but stay awake and pray to God! Prayer is an underused weapon in our arsenal — let’s use it and be a blessing to ourselves and the world!
– Jarrod M. Jacobs