Rocked on the Water

Jonah 1:4-6

But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

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The road is filled with homeless souls
Every woman, child and man
Who have no idea where they will go
But they'll help you if they can
Now everyone must have some thought
That's going to pull them through somehow
Well the fires are raging hotter and hotter
But the sisters of the sun are going to rock me on the water now

"Rock Me on the Water" by Jackson Brown from his self titled first album commonly known as "Saturate Before Using"

Jonah got rocked on the water for one simple reason, The Lord told him "go and warn the city of Nineveh that it wasn't going to end well... soon" and Jonah said, "Er, no." Instead of heading off into the desert he headed off to the sea.

Everybody on that ship was heading off on their way. They had no idea who their fellow passenger was, nor did they have any idea where this trip would take them. They didn't know that they had signed onto a vessel that was doomed because of one man's disobedience. So the Lord brought up a great storm on the sea. They were tossed like they were no more than a cork. The seamen prayed to their own Gods to still the sea and their Gods were worthless. Jonah on the other hand knew what was happening and he took a nap.

How's that for confidence in the Lord. Jonah knew he was being disobedient to the Lord. He knew this danger was the consequence of his disobedience. He was so confident in the Lord and that the coming of the Lord's judgment would come that he could sleep in the midst of pending doom.

Everyone on the boat knew they were going down. They even dumped their cargo so that they wouldn't be swamped by the roaring sea. These harmless souls prayed to their ineffective Gods that they would pull them through this somehow. The captain, knowing Jonah followed a different God, told him to pray to his God for salvation.

Well, Jonah knew what was happening left the boat which saved the crew. Then he was rocked again on the water. Jonah was rocked and God was there. The Lord was present and the Lord provided. It didn't go like Jonah wanted or desired, but the Lord provided. Maybe Jonah is the ultimate example that we don't have to like what God's doing, and that's fine with God. But it is better to go with the tide than to get rocked.