Jonah and the whale is a strange- tale indeed. It has mostly been relegated to the category of myth were exciting children books emerge from. You know the story well so I won’t elaborate here.
But Jonah is an important story for us to understand. Why? Because it is all about You and Me. It’s about how we behave towards God and to those around us. And of course, we would never have such a dramatic experience as Jonah, but each of us has our fair share of times when we run away from Gods love and presence and find ourselves in some sticky situation. We can break fellowship with God, but we can never break our relationship- he is our Father and therefore, he will never give up on us, but always draws us back to himself. So, Jonah has much to teach us.
The prince of preachers Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said: what is the use of grace which I profess to have received which leaves me exactly the same sort of person as I was before I received it? A faith that does not lead to a drastic change of behavior, will never lead to a change of destiny.
Jonah had to be brought down to the depths to understand the love, holiness and grace of God and how much he values others even when they were immoral, for his destiny to change and that of others. And God wanted Jonah to value the sinful folk of Nineveh, by warning them of impending doom so they could be saved. How wonderful the grace of God!
Jonah’s’ behavior was unkind, judgemental and selfish and did not match the behavior of his benevolent God. So, God in his mercy brought Jonah back to into fellowship to himself using adverse circumstances.
I am awaiting a knee replacement and having cortisone injections under my knee cap to reduce swelling and pain. Years as a sportswoman is now catching up with me. I morn at times for the freedom in mobility I once had, however, I have and still learning lessons about God and myself due to my malaise. And I have to say, I am glad that when I wake up each day and journey through my day that I call out to God through Christ to help me get through it according to his will. And you know what? -he does, the power of the Spirit is there.
My adverse situation has made me realize things about myself that I would have never encountered had my knee and shoulder (and feet) been whole. Its all about behavior. The children of God will reflect the nature of their Father. And adverse situations, if we allow them, will do just that.
If you are struggling with your faith or a difficult situation, and you would like support and prayer, please contact on at me
In the meantime, avoid whales!
Hope. Faith. Love. 