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Have you ever been told you are a bad listener? If you are married, chances are this may have come out a time or two during your years of that relationship. If you are a parent, you have undoubtedly felt this way about your children’s behavior after repeated instruction. As a Christian, there have been and will be times that we sinfully become bad listeners; we fail to stop and truly listen to the Word of God and His will for our lives — especially when things don’t look like they are going swimmingly.
Over the past few weeks, I have been struck by the similarities between the account of Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4:35–41) and the story of Jonah (Jonah 1–2) as I prepared for the sermon this past weekend. In both cases, there is a storm that threatens to end the lives of those on the water. In both cases, there are sailors hopelessly in the midst of frantic efforts to save themselves. And in both cases, the key figure of each account —Jonah and Jesus — is asleep, seemingly indifferent and unaware of the struggle and chaos on the deck of the boat above them.
However, it would be foolish not to also point out that, despite the similarities, there is also a tremendous difference in why the two key figures are in that situation. Jonah’s journey was one of trying to escape God’s command to go to Nineveh. Jesus is the one who gave the disciples the instruction to sail across the Sea of Galilee to get to the gentile side of the lake. Jonah is thrown overboard to calm the storm, acknowledging that he is the cause of the tempest. Jesus rises with authority and commands the winds and the sea to “be still!” demonstrating His divine power over all creation. But what I am struck by most is that in both cases, God’s great power brings the doubting disciples, the secular sailors, and even the petulant prophet Jonah safely through the storm. The storm was too much for men, even experienced sailors, but there is no storm that is too big for God.
As we think about both accounts, I am reminded of how quickly we forget what God says He will do for us and how quickly we can, in the midst of the stormy moments — some of our own doing and others out of our control — resort to panic, anxiety, worry, or frustration in the fruitless efforts to frantically deal with what life throws at us. How quickly can we forget that God has promised He will see us through whatever we may face? In the moment, in the heat of the trial or stormy season, we often forget to stop trying to fix it and first take comfort in listening to what God has promised to do for us and the lengths He went to in order for us to know that promise. “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey Him?” This is the Lord God who made the heavens and the earth, the one who declares that your sins are forgiven, the one who comes in the midst of tragedy and trial and reminds you that His love for you will never leave you or forsake you. The one who took on even the biggest calamity — death itself — and gave Himself up for you so that even in that final hour of earthly life, you can know that He will bring you into His nearer presence.
There is one final difference between these accounts. The sailors on their way to Tarshish, before throwing Jonah into the sea, cry out, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood.” Today, we do not have that sort of prayer. No, today, we pray with thanksgiving that God not only saves sinners because of an innocent man’s death, but so too do we, in joy, remember that the blood of Christ has been laid upon us. “In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:13–14).
Whatever the storm, whatever the hardship, whatever seems overwhelming and disheartening, don’t forget to listen this time around. Listen to what God says to you. Remember that He is your peace, and even when things look bleak, remember that He will do what it takes to bring you safe to shore.
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