There are main purposes to every passage in Scripture. I want to look at the book of Jonah, but I don’t want to look at the main purpose, but something I noticed that is secondary in the book. It deals with how we can help others. In the book of Jonah we see someone running from God. His name is Jonah. God had called him to a mission and instead of doing it, he runs the other way. Well, he doesn’t run, he floats.

In the case of Jonah, God wasn’t putting up with this disobedience. He runs from God, gets on a boat to sail the other way, and God sends a storm where Jonah is tossed overboard and literally sits in a fish’s stomach for three days after being swallowed. But look at what is happening before that fish comes along. In Jonah 1, God uses a storm to get the Jonah’s attention.

God created the storm (verse 4). The crew was clearly panicking (verse 5) We see that they were afraid, and calling out to their gods for help. Have you ever noticed what was happening with Jonah during this time? Is he calling out to God for relief? Is he helping take care of the ship so it doesn’t sink? Nope, like a college kid before lunch on Saturday, he’s zonked, fast asleep.

This happens a lot in our life, doesn’t it? We have friends who are making a wreck out of their lives. It may be through drugs, poor relationships, finances, or maybe poor business decisions. We see it and are panicking, and they are oblivious to the storm they are causing in their life.

We have two options. One is to sit back and watch the person drown. The other is to show them the storm that is going on in their life. What we should do is what the pagan captain in this ship does. He calls on Jonah to call out to the true God to help stop the storm (verse 6).

Now of course we need to be careful how we do this. In some circumstances if someone is going to destroy their life, we might need to figuratively grab them and shake them. In other cases we may need to be gentle.

Whatever the situation calls for, we need to realize that there are times to intervene in a friends life. They, like Jonah, may not even be aware of the storm, but sleeping through it. We may need to be the person to wake them up and show them of the consequences that await them. That’s what good friends do for each other.

Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, Pa 18421 on Sundays at 10:45 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes  or Googleplay.