Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, February 23, 2025

Salvation is in the Storm

Today, Pastor Michael is back with Jonah, the prophet who ’never got it’.  The last time we saw Jonah, he was on a ship bound for Tarshish.  He was essentially in denial of God’s leadership, and he was running from God.

The ship encountered a huge storm that the Lord clearly sent for Jonah’s disobedience.  This storm saved Jonah from destruction; in fact, many things we think of as storms are ‘path corrections’ by the Lord.  

So the ship was in this huge storm, and Jonah crashed out below decks; he was so tired.  The ship’s captain asked Jonah to pray to his God to help them in the storm.  The captain and the pagan sailors recognized that Jonah was running from his God and that bad things were happening to them because of his disobedience.  

Jonah offered to the sailors that they could throw him into the sea.  Jonah, however, was flawed in his understanding; Jonah risked his life for the sailors but not for the city that the Lord told him to go and help save.  Jonah didn’t show much mercy, but the pagan sailors did.

The sailors did throw Jonah into the sea, at which time he was promptly swallowed by a whale!  Even getting swallowed by a whale was an act of God’s mercy!

Today’s verses can be found in Jonah 1: 4-17.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.