Singing in the Storm
Today we continue looking at joy. How can we experience joy when storms are swirling around us? First, we need to remember that joy is a fruit of the spirit. We do not create joy, but we can engender the supernatural gift within us to remedy our reaction to storms. Let’s look at one of our reactions when we are in storms:
We can:
Run from the Storm
Jonah 1:4-10 (NIV) 4 Then the lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 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. 6 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.”
7 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. 8 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?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. ”
10 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.)
Did you know how difficult it is to outrun storms? Regardless of what we do, the storms seem unrelenting, particularly if they are sent by God.
Jonah ‘s storm was supernatural in origin and in proportion. The reaction of the crew on board the ship was initially to look to the physical, lightening the load to give the ship more stability. When that failed, they determined the cause of the storm was Jonah, so off he went into the waters.
Jonah, recognizing his dilemma, began to remember who God is. So Jonah prayed.
Jonah 2:2 (NIV) “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.”
Did Jonah sing during the storm? We are not given that information, but if we examine the entirety of Jonah’s prayer it is very reminiscent of a psalm, and psalms were written to be sung.
Jonah made his confession before God, repented, received forgiveness, was restored to a right relationship with God, and then praised God for His mercy and His faithfulness. So did Jonah sing during the storm? How could he not?
May we remember Jonah the next time we are in the storms of life, and may we sing a psalm, or perhaps one of the hymns of the church like “Love Lifted Me.”
Stay with us over the next few days as we continue looking at how joy can change our response to storms.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Seeking Holiness 