So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. — Jonah 1:6
I cannot help but laugh at times when trying to wake my son up from sleeping. Since he is deaf, he can sleep so soundly. The only thing that really disturbs him is the light in the room. Let him be in darkness, and it can take considerable effort to wake him some mornings.
I have often reflected on this verse in Jonah. How could Jonah be asleep on a ship in the middle of a violent storm? Having spent time on boats myself, I know that even a modest wind can cause movement and instability. The idea of sleeping through a storm seems almost impossible.
Yet Jonah did.
The storm was raging. The sailors were fearful. Cargo was being thrown overboard. And Jonah was asleep.
While we may not physically understand how he slept through that storm, spiritually, it is not difficult to see how we can do the same. There are moments in our lives when storms are clearly forming, consequences, conviction, unrest, spiritual drift, and yet we remain disengaged. We avoid prayer. We ignore conviction. We delay obedience.
The shipmaster’s words are striking: “What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God.” In many ways, this is still the call to believers today. When storms come, whether of our own making or simply the trials of life, the first response should not be avoidance. It should be calling upon God.
Sleep can represent spiritual indifference. It can reflect a reluctance to face what God may be saying. But storms have a way of revealing what we have been ignoring.
The good news is this: the call to “arise” is also a call to hope. It is never too late to wake up. It is never too late to call upon the Lord. God’s mercy is not withheld from those who turn to Him, even in the middle of the storm.
If there is a storm around you, or within you, perhaps the invitation is simple: arise. Call upon your God. He is near, even when we have been slow to respond.
As you reflect today, consider this: Is there an area of your life where you may have grown spiritually inattentive?
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About Another Well Ministries
Another Well Ministries exists to help people slow down, listen deeply, and encounter God in the ordinary places of life. Through devotionals, reflections, and spiritual resources, we seek to create space for faith to be formed with honesty, grace, and hope.
To learn more about the heart of the ministry or explore additional resources, visit anotherwell.org.
