What Jonah Heard

 

E

arly one morning I was awakened by the distant sound of rolling thunder.  The weather forecast had predicted rain and thunderstorms for that day, but I hadn’t anticipated them beginning their party at 3 a.m.!!!   

 

As I lay there the thunder’s intensity increased and flashes of bright lightening illuminated my dark room.  I could make out every picture on the walls, every fold in the bedcovers, and the stack of pillows on the floor just beside my bed.  Closing my eyes proved a futile exercise so I just decided to open them and enjoy the show! 

 

It wasn’t long before I heard the first few drops of rain on the roof.  It approached by stealth, just a few drops here and there when, suddenly, the clouds opened their bomb bay doors and released the full load.  It fell in torrents and the wind blew it into sheets which beat against the roof and the walls of my house. 

 

During all this activity, I was safe and secure in my bed.  The storm was howling around me, but my little house stood firm, keeping me warm, dry, calm.  In the darkness I couldn’t help but thinking of Jonah who rode out an incredible storm in the belly of a great fish. 

  

The story is so very familiar to us, but it is worth taking a good look at one verse in particular, one verse that we may overlook to quickly and therefore miss the great truth couched within it. 

 

Jonah 1:17 simply reads, “But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.”  We usually read this passage very quickly, acknowledging Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish, and then we go ahead with the story as if this was an everyday occurrence.  But there are two things we need to understand today. 

 

First, notice that God prepared that fish for Jonah.  Like so many of us, Jonah was running in the opposite direction of God’s call on his life.  If Nineveh was north, Jonah headed south; if it was east, he headed west.  And we are no different than this man!  We will find any excuse we can to keep from doing what God has called us to do.  But God’s plans were not going to change so He prepared a holding tank, literally, for Jonah. 

 

Second, the Scripture tells us Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights.  All hear heard was the water rushing around him.  He felt the increased pressure as the fish descended and perhaps he was jostled about as it breached from the water only to splash back again into the deep.  Having no idea where he was going, having no inclination he would ever touch land again, Jonah lifted his voice to God from what had to be the lowest point, literally, of his life. 

                                                                                                                 

On that particular morning I was reminded that life has its storms.  We cannot escape them.  We may not know where we are going.  It may get rough, and circumstances may be anything but what we had envisioned or hoped them to be.  But it is wonderful to know we serve a God who provides shelter for us during those times.  Like Jonah, we may be running but we can never run away from Him.  For all the unpleasantness of his situation, Jonah was safe.  God provided for him, and God heard him. 

 

Wherever you are today in your walk with the Lord, I pray you know His provision and protection in the time of storm.  The storm you are in may be the Lord’s way of getting your attention so that He can use you for the purpose to which He has called you.  Jonah was God’s instrument for the people of Nineveh.  If you find yourself in a similar situation today, listen carefully. Through the storm, through the falling rain, the howling wind, and the crashing waves, listen for God’s voice, pray for His guidance, yield yourself to Him and you will hear what Jonah heard, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give to you.” (Jonah 3:1-2)