Whether it's a broken relationship, a financial crisis, or perhaps a dire medical condition, No one is exempt from unexpected storms. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl explains how God's most remarkable rescues arrive in the most surprising ways. He's teaching from Jonah chapter 1. telling the story of Jonah's plunge into the high seas. Who would imagine that Jonah's rescue would come through a great fish?
Whatever storm you're enduring right now, don't dismiss the possibility of a surprise rescue. God specializes in divine interventions that no human could orchestrate. And we begin with prayer. Our Father, we have spent so many of our days. Learning not to be who we are.
Learning how to put up a front. Learning how to play a role. Learning how to appear something or someone. other than ourselves. Enable us to stop this bad habit.
To come to terms with the truth. Even the truth That we need you. And we cannot make it on our own, just as the sailors couldn't get that ship. to the shore on their own. We can't make it from earth to heaven by ourselves.
We need help. from above. Help that has been provided. And so we are not surprised that when you Tell us to come to you, you tell us to come just as we are. Without one plea.
But simply remembering that Your blood. Has made the way possible. Thank you in advance, Father, for those who this very day. Will acknowledge their need for you and will turn their lives over. completely to you.
without holding back. without faking it. without acting like they can add to it. Since we cannot Help us all to come. Just as we are.
And now we give from what you have provided for us.
Some are able to give more than others. because you have enabled them to earn more than others. All of us can give something, and so As we do, may we realize it is for your glory. And for our good. that we learn to release.
Another habit. We've learned over these years of life is to hold on too tightly. to what we call our own when actually You own it all.
So we come just as we are. And we give what we have. For you. and for your glory. In the name of Jesus.
We pray. Everyone said, Amen. You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into the story of Jonah on your own, be sure to purchase our Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbook by going to insight.org slash offer. Chuck titled today's message, Prayers on Board, Profit Overboard.
God knows what he's doing. He knows what he's about. Even when we cannot Figure it out. Even when we forget, He is at work. All this brings us to the prophet.
Jonah. who foolishly thought that he could Escape the presence of God. Who foolishly thought he could block the sovereign plan? That was being fulfilled. in him and through him.
All the while, his invisible God. was doing his invincible will. It would be impossible. For Jonah to escape it. You see, uh Even though Jonah didn't realize it.
God was there all the time. When Jonah went to Joppa and happened to find a ship. Ceiling for Torshish. God was there. When Jonah bought the one-way ticket, to go as far to the west as the ship could take him.
God got on the ship with him. When the ship went to sea, God went to sea. When Jonah wound up in the hold of the ship, wrapped in his prophet's mantle. Dozing off to sleep, God was there, but. He who never slumbers or sleeps.
was at that time gathering up the billowing clouds of the sky, and pushing at the waters of the sea. to form a storm. Because God Though invisible, Never named audibly to Jonah or the sailors. God was in the storm. He's in every storm.
God is in the midst of this storm. This is an ancient theology for only ancient times. This is. For today. This includes the storms in your life.
And those in mind. And we begin with storms that shock. Storms that shock, reminding us of who is in charge. Two questions come to mind. When do they happen?
Several answers occur. From my study of the Bible and also from life. I would say, when we least expect them. I would add: when we are adrift spiritually, storms have a way of getting us back on track. When we think we're in charge, storms remind us we're not.
Here's another one. They come when we have been clinging too tightly to people we need to release. or things we need to let go of. Storms have a way of helping us release our grip. When do they come when we are in need of Rearranging our priorities and reframing our lives.
Storms hit. And they sometimes hit with a vengeance. Because they are unexpected, they catch us off guard. But there they are, nevertheless.
Now why do they come? Again, several reasons come to mind. They come first to humble us. They humble us. They also come to get our attention.
They come to make us aware of our own frailty, our own limitations. They come to remind us. I say again of who is in charge. of our lives.
So that we will Don't miss this word. You don't hear it often.
So that we will fear God. Fear God. I did not say be afraid of him. Parents want their children to fear them in the sense that they want their children and should expect them to respect them. That requires a lot of the parents.
and it requires training of the children. But God certainly does expect it of us. We are to Hold him in awesome Respect. You've heard me emphasize it before. I suggest we limit the word awesome.
To God. It's all part of fearing him. Storms bring a healthy awareness. That this is God. At work.
Right here. Right now. To Jonah, God wasn't all that significant. God had become a ho-hum. Subject You heard it right.
To Jonah, God had become a ho-ham subject. Take it or leave him. God says, go to Nineveh. Are you kidding? I'm on my way to Tarshish.
Because the command of God didn't Arrest Jonah's attention. He's tired of God. Maybe at this time he's able to shrug it off. Which explains how he can crawl down into the hold of the ship. and fall asleep.
He didn't take God seriously. Until There was a storm. Paul Tripp adds this cogent comment. You spent so much time in Scripture that its grand redemptive narrative doesn't excite you anymore. You spent so much time discipling others.
that you are no longer amazed at the reality Of being chosen to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. You spent so much time unpacking the theology of Scripture that you've forgotten that its end game is personal holiness. You spent so much time meditating on what it means to lead others. But you have little pride at all. It's all become so Regular.
So normal that it fails to move you anymore. Could there be greater danger in ministry? than that the one leading the ministry would lose. His awe of God. That is precisely Jonah's problem.
Nothing related to God or God's work. Excited. or interested Jonah. Anymore. That's when it's time to bring on the storm.
And that's exactly what God did. When the storms come, there are fears that frighten. It follows logically. following the storms that shock us. There are fears.
accompanying the storms. that can frighten us. Storms can do that. Underneath this are two thoughts that come to mind. We realize our human limitations.
And hopefully, in the storm, we acknowledge God's limitless. Power. We see the fear in the unbelieving sailors. Don't miss that. The ones who are fearful Or the sailors.
We see them first in verse 5. fearing for their lives. We see them again, verse 10. The sailors are. Terrified.
When they heard from Jonah That he's a Hebrew who worshiped the Lord, the God of the heaven and the seas. He made the sea and the land, and they wonder, why on earth then are you running from him? They've got a greater awe. Of his God than Jonah does, and they don't even know him.
So they can't figure out this man. laying there in his mantle, Wiping the sleep from his eyes. Thinking he can run from the God of the sea.
So they're afraid. They realize that there is limitless power at work around them. And they are very limited in their own lives and so the story unfolds. Look closely at verse 11. Since the storm was getting worse all the time, They asked him, What should we do to you to stop this storm?
Since he's your God, And since your God is the God of the sea, And since the sea is a stormy sea and it's tearing our ship apart, the mast is about to break, the sails will soon split. What do you suggest we do, Jonah? What should we do to stop the storm? I want you to notice Jonah's answer. It is almost with a yawn.
It's an absolute death wish. Throw me into the sea. Jonah said. and it will become calm again. In fact, I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.
Does he care? He does not. Remember, he has lost his awe of God.
So he says to them, Throw me into the sea. You know, I read this over and over again. And the thought hit me. Why didn't he climb up on deck and jump for himself? Why does he need grown men To wrap their arms around him and drag him up to the top deck and throw him over the rail.
Go up there yourself and jump in. You know why? I bought got it figured out because that would be suicide. And in that day, That was unthinkable. For a prophet to take his own life And so he says to them, Well, I know how to stop the storm.
Just get rid of me. And you know With my whole heart, I believe. Jonah expected to drown when he was thrown into the sea. You see, Jonah's never read. The book.
So he doesn't know what's coming. We know what's coming, so if we're not careful, we'll yawn. But remember, Lescano only goes just this far. We've got a storm tearing the thing apart. And he says to them, throw me into the sea.
To them, that's murder. And their gods Look with great disfavor on someone who would take another's life. And so Instead, we read Verse 13, the sailors rowed Even harder to get the ship to the land. You know what that tells us? It's a small ship.
You don't you don't roll up Massive ship of steel like we're used to seeing at sea. This is a little wooden ship. With a mast and sails and Who knows how long? 50, 60, 75, 80 feet long, maybe. And the timbers are coming apart, and the sails are ripping, and the storm is terrifying.
Carrying it. And so they get on the oars and they began to row that thing to get it to shore. That'll at least keep them from throwing him off. They can get him off when they get to land, but they can't get to shore. Because the storm is too great, they can't get the ship over there.
So they're in this dilemma. How do they throw him overboard without The guilt of murder And yet how do they leave him on board and survive the storm? Look for yourself. The sailors rowed Even harder to get the ship to the land. Stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn't make it.
Then Now this is phenomenal. This is phenomenal. They cried out to the Lord, Jonah's God. Their gods didn't work.
So they're saying, well, let's borrow his. Since his is the God of the land and the sea. Let's go there. You know why? Because they have an awesome respect for him.
Even though they're not related to him. If your God is the God of the sea, and if this sea is stormy and we can't stop this ship from. being torn apart. We can't get it to land. We're going to call on him.
And so they call on God. asking that he not hold his death. Jonah's death. to their account. Look at how they put it.
They pleaded, oh Lord, don't make us die. For this man's sin. If they keep him on board, they will die. They'll drown. And they add: Don't hold us responsible for his death, O Lord.
You have sent this storm upon him for your own good reason. That is one of the most insightful comments you could read. this far in the in the book of Jonah. They see it. You know what?
We call it connecting the dots. This storm didn't just happen. Jonah, it happened because of you. And For God's reason, we don't know what they are, He sent this storm. They didn't know about Nineveh.
They didn't know about Jonah's disobedience back in chapter one. They haven't read the book either. And so They're operating from just their own If I may use the word appropriately, their own ignorant perspective. We don't know why it's happened, but it's happened for his good reasons. For his own good reasons.
And then they decide.
Okay, let's take him. And let's throw him over. Which to them was a horrendous decision. They didn't want to do it. But reluctantly they pick the man up, they pick up Jonah Verse 15 tells us, and they threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once.
I don't know how many of you have been at sea. I don't know how far out you have been. or how much of a storm you've seen at sea. But I will tell you from the experience I've had. An ocean Can become a slick.
Fishermen call it a slick. It's like a mirror. Within a matter of Minutes the waves calm, the sea stops its howling, the currents quit. The silence is eerie. And the ship is sitting.
Still On a silent sea. You remember reading the rhyme of the ancient mariner?
Some of you will remember your days in English literature. Alone, alone, all alone, alone on a wide, wide sea, and not a soul took pity on me in my agony. Water, water everywhere, and yea, the boards did shrink. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. The very deep did rot.
Oh Christ, that ever this should be. Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea. Coleridge at his best. Probably on opium when he wrote it, but rewrote it. And you see the slimy things crawling on the slick of the sea.
That's where they are. Except in this case. Jonah's gone. They're on the ship, the storm has stopped. Yeah.
Guess what?
Well, read it for yourself. The sailors, I love this. were awestruck. Oh. Yeah, you betcha, Bertha.
They were awe struck. The sailors were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and they vowed to serve him. You know what Cynthia said at home when she heard me reading about this? She said they probably became Jonah's associate pastors when he went to Nineveh. There There is no biblical grounds for making such a statement.
I might add. The very creative thought, it's a great thought, but there is no biblical grounds for their becoming a part of his stat. But they did vow to serve him. Don't you wonder? Honest now.
Where some of them wound up.
Soon as they got to land, Don't you wonder? How they served This newfound God of the sea. whom they vowed to serve and to whom they offered their sacrifice. God loves our sacrifices. One of them is the sacrifice of praise.
There's a statement in Hebrews, By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. He loves it when our lips pour forth his praises. That's a sacrifice. that comes from our our hearts. The heart is like a well and the tongue is like a bucket.
and it goes down and it pulls up. Our gratitude and outcome praises. That comes in the form of verbal sacrifices to God, like a sweet-smelling aroma. How marvelous is that? And it's coming from sailors.
who only days before were cursing one another and life and They're gods. No longer. They're in awe. of the slick sea. and the invisible God.
whose invincible power is stopped the storm. You're listening to Insight for Living and the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindahl. Today's program features the third message in a fresh biographical series called Jonah the Reluctant Prophet. Here at Insight for Living, it's our tradition to offer companion resources so you can dig deeper into these topics on your own. The first one I'll mention is the Spiral Bound Bible Study Workbook for Jonah.
It's produced in the Searching the Scriptures format. Second, all nine of the audio C D s for this study on Jonah are in stock and available today. You can feel free to reach out and request these resources at insight.org/slash offer. Or call us at 800-772-8888. Today I also have the privilege of offering a brand new booklet to you.
It features the written sermon that Chuck presented on the weekend of his 90th birthday at Stonebriar Community Church, the church he founded and nurtured with deep love. His booklet is titled, Look Beyond, Will You Focus on Eternity? In his final message to the church that he founded, Chuck implores each of us to hold fast to the timeless truths of the Bible. He reminds us that to lead well, we must first focus on eternity and the unwavering message of Christ. You'll find his booklet both encouraging and challenging as we strive to walk boldly with Jesus.
We'd be pleased to send you this booklet when you give a gift to support the Ministry of Insight for Living. Just ask for the resource Chuck wrote called Look Beyond. To send a check and request the booklet in the mail, address your envelope to InsightForLiving. Post Office Box 5000. Frisco, Texas 75034.
To speak with one of our friendly ministry reps, you can call us at 800-772-8888. 800-772-8888. You can also give a donation with your request for the booklet online at insight.org slash donate. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindahl continues his biographical study of Jonah, the reluctant prophet.
Friday on Insight for Living. The preceding message Prayers on Board, Profit Overboard. Was copyrighted in 2018, 2019, and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles Arswindahl Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
