Are there areas in your life where you are asleep?

Jonah 1:5 

Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.

“Afraid” - sheer terror

But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

“had gone down” - to sink lower

“And had lain down” - A Choice to Be Unmoved

“was fast asleep.” -  A Deep, Unnatural Sleep, a trance-like state

Jonah 1:6 

So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god!

Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Jonah 1:8 

Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

When the storm hits, people caught in the storm start asking questions.

Jonah 1:9 

And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Jonah is self-centered

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package. When we are consumed with self—our comfort, our preferences, our feelings—we become fragile. We are too easily offended because we think everything is about us. We are too easily distracted because we are preoccupied with our own desires. We are too easily bored because we crave constant gratification. And we are too quick to give up because we have made ourselves, not Christ, the center of our lives. — A.W. Tozer

The Gospel isn’t about our preferences—it’s about God’s mission.

God’s mission has always been to reach the lost.

What if, instead of trying to kill our self-focus, we repurposed it for the glory of God?

Mark 12:31

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Following God means we care about the lost people in the storm.

We belong to Jesus. And Jesus is here for people.

Is change even possible?

Matthew 9:36

"Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

Matthew 10:1

"And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”

Authority isn’t given just for there own sake—it’s given for kingdom purposes.

The more we align our hearts with the harvest, the more we step into the authority Jesus has for us.

Generation Z is experiencing a profound hunger for spirituality—more than any generation in recent history. According to their data:

• 74% of Americans say they desire spiritual growth.

• 77% say they believe in a higher power.

• 83% Are certain or think a spiritual / supernatural dimension exists.

Yes, church attendance and traditional religious affiliation may be on the decline, but spiritual curiosity is rising. People—especially young people—are searching. They’re hungry for something real. They’re growing up in a world marked by division, uncertainty, and constant change, but they want conversations about faith. They’re looking for meaning, for truth, for something bigger than themselves.

To reach the people in the storm, we have to be willing to be in the storm and not hide below deck. 

In Jonah 1, Jonah is asleep because he’s running from God.

In Mark 4, Jesus is asleep because He’s resting in God.

When the sailors woke Jonah, Jonah was reluctant to say anything.

When the disciples woke Jesus, He didn’t just wake up—He spoke up. He rebuked the wind and the waves, and they obeyed.

Mark 4:39

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 14:25

And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

What swallowed Jonah under was under Jesus’ feet.

Matthew 14:29

So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

Peter walked on the storm water because his eyes were on Jesus.

Matthew 14:31

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, the storm doesn’t get to define us.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we don’t live in reaction to the chaos—we walk in response to His call.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we’re not just surviving the storm—we’re stepping into it, hands outstretched, pulling others into the safety of His love.

Don’t close your eyes and sleep, open your eyes and look at Jesus!

The church is not a cruise ship for the comfortable; it is a lifeboat for the lost. And lifeboats don’t avoid the storm—they head straight into it, because that’s where people need saving. — Leonard Ravenhill