Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Opening Scripture

When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together.

Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” Acts 27:13-25

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for rest and the promise of a new day. I praise You for Your loving kindness, Your thoughtful provision, and Your comforting presence. Help my hope and security be in You today, not in what I do, or what I have, or what others think. May Your Spirit guide me in the way I should go. Help me to appreciate Your blessings and see You at work around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Jonah 1:4-16

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.

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?” “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.”

Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

Reflection  

Today’s passage is such a fascinating part of the story! Several things are obvious: God is absolutely sovereign over all creation. Jonah knows precisely what he is doing. The sailors fear God more than the prophet does. And the calamity prompted unbelievers to turn to Yahweh.

As Jonah tries to “flee from God’s presence” toward Tarshish on a chartered ship, God stops him in his tracks. As the sailors desperately scramble to save the boat and themselves, Jonah is below deck, indifferent to the storm and sound asleep. Ironically, a pagan ship captain had to call God’s prophet to prayer!

How interesting that the sailors quickly assumed the storm was divine punishment for the misdeeds of someone on board. They all agreed to “cast lots” to discover the culprit. God used this “roll of the dice” to correctly identify Jonah, in fulfillment of Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”

Jonah immediately responded to the sailors’ barrage of questions by identifying himself and declaring the greatness of Yahweh, in contrast to their many false gods. The sailors rightly concluded that Jonah’s unfaithfulness was the source of their dilemma. There was no doubt a tone of accusation in their voices, since Jonah was “responsible for making all this trouble for us.”

The pagan sailors seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation better than Jonah did. Their question, “What have you done?” contains more shock and fear than curious inquiry. As the storm grew stronger, they urgently asked Jonah, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” Since Jonah was the source of the problem, the solution must involve doing something with him.

“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.” Jonah was resigned to suffering the ultimate punishment for his disobedience to God. Perhaps he assumed that death was better than preaching to the hated Assyrians. Why didn’t he simply jump into the water himself?

These Gentiles without God’s Law recognized the value of human life. The sailors did not want to kill Jonah for fear they would incur God’s wrath. They struggled again to get back to shore, but the storm grew even fiercer. After begging Yahweh’s forgiveness, acknowledging His sovereignty, and with no other choice, the sailors threw Jonah into the raging sea. Miraculously, the storm ceased, and the ocean became calm, prompting these hardened men to worship the Mighty Creator God of the Hebrews.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

In his book, “Under the Unpredictable Plant,” Eugene Peterson compares the prophet Jonah’s ill-fated voyage heading for Tarshish to the Apostle Paul’s sea trek to Rome in Acts 27 (Opening Scripture).

“When we set the stories alongside each other, comparisons and contrasts come into view: Jonah the type to whom Paul is antitype – the disobedient prophet turned back from his flight from the face of God; the obedient apostle interrupted but not deterred in his pursuit of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

“In both, ships are headed west across the Mediterranean Sea and are overtaken by severe storms. In both, the chief characters along with the ships’ crews are in peril of death by drowning. And in both the protagonists are saved not only personally but vocationally: Jonah turned back from his vocational disobedience, Paul confirmed in his vocational obedience.

“God’s passion to work salvation in all the earth by means of his preached word is the pivot on which both stores turn. Salvation, God’s will for every creature to experience the love that redeems, is not a casual or cool abstraction; it is a wild and extravagant energy, not reducible to human control, not to be harnessed to the service of a religious job. The storm is all-encompassing and unmanageable. As such it provides the contextual analogue for the unleashed spirit/wind of God.”

In each instance, the storm is not a random weather event. It is the dramatic means by which God accomplishes His perfect plan. For Paul, it was divine confirmation of God’s protection and provision. For Jonah, it was divine correction and a “wake-up call.”

The individual’s perspective changes as the storm becomes no longer just an uncontrollable threat to life, but a tool of God’s mercy and discipline. The focus shifts from self-centered survival to dependence on God and trust in His plan. When Jonah’s storm first hit, “all the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.” By the end, the sailors “greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.”

Though we are unable to grasp the fullness of it, God can and does use even violent storms for His good purpose. Our limited knowledge and understanding prevent us from perceiving all that God is accomplishing at any given moment. We see only in part what is happening around us, ignorant and unaware of all the forces and implications involved. We don’t know what we don’t know. That is where faith comes in.

Do we truly believe that God is good and able?

Do we truly believe God is all-powerful and all-knowing?

Do we truly believe God loves us and wants what’s best for us?

Do we truly believe God is working out His great plan of redemption in us and through us?

This week’s collective prayer: Father, place someone on my heart who needs to hear the Good News of Jesus. Give me the opportunity to share with them. Amen.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!