S170P4 – Behind closed doors: Jonah

Jon. 1:17-2:1

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.  Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.”

Jonah was a man running from the Lord’s will.  Knowing what God had ahead for him, Jonah did what he could do in his power to find a way out of his fate.  He had a different idea and a different plan, but God would not be opposed.  Jonah tried to hop on a ship and get as far away from God as possible, but that ship would not be the salvation he envisioned.  In fact, the Lord would use it to bring Jonah almost to his end, and his salvation would be found in the belly of that fish.  It was not the fish itself that saved Jonah from a death at sea but the transformation he underwent when he was there.  There was a great purpose in God bringing Jonah to a place of utter solitude.

I am sure that most if not all of us at one time or another have been sent to our rooms to think about the grave things we have done. Jonah’s experience is a parallel to this except that there was much more on the line for him. God forced him to sit there and contemplate how he had gotten to such a place. Jonah had nothing else to do there but think, and his thoughts could have gone in one of two directions. Either he would curse God for this experience and refuse to relent, or he would recognize the greatness of God and respond by repenting and fulfilling his calling. The belly of that fish was Jonah’s opportunity to increase in faith and humility or show them to be absent.

Do not be surprised if God orchestrates circumstances in order to force you into that quiet place of intimacy with him. Particularly in this world which is so full of distraction and confusion, this cannot surprise us. If we are like Jonah and ignoring God’s calling and direction, He very will might send us into the belly of our own great fish to reconsider our disobedience and ignorance. The prospect for Jonah might have seemed terrifying in that moment, but that solitude was necessary for him to change and move forward with God’s plan. Father, forgive us for the times when we have and run from You like Jonah, and we ask that You lead us to the belly of the fish when we need it.