Jonah 2: Mercy and love... in a fish belly

In Jonah 1, God sends Jonah to preach to Nineveh. Jonah decides not to answer the call. He runs in the opposite direction and buys himself a ship ride towards Tarshish. On the ship, he meets several sailors, who worship different gods. A storm comes along the way, and the gods these sailors are praying to have no answer. Jonah suggests that his God has the power to stop the ship, and that if he was thrown overboard, the storm would stop. When the sailors eventually did throw Jonah off, they were struck with awe by the power of the one true God.

Moving to Jonah 2, we see that God 'punishes' His prophet for His refusal to follow. In actual fact though, God is showing mercy and love. Mercy and love?! In a fish belly?! You'd be amazed; a fish belly is a great place to reflect in.

Time for reflection
The second chapter tells us that God sends a big fish to swallow Jonah. The interesting thing here is that at this, the lowest point for Jonah in this adventure is that Jonah did not reproach God. He didn't not beg for mercy, neither did he apologise profusely. Jonah explicitly and directly praised God for what had just happened, and went on to make a commitment to do what God wants.

It's ironic because this is probably the one time everyone else (including me, and probably you too) would have done the opposite! We might have begged God for forgiveness, or we might have hated God for this torture (imagine how it must smell in there!). We just got swallowed by a big fish!

But Jonah did not see the situation like that at all. What he saw – and what we all should see when the time of testing comes – was that things could have been much worse. He could have died in the waters! Jonah had just experienced the mercy and love of God, not punishment!

Isn't it true that in our roller-coaster life, most of us tend to forget God when we're flying high at our peak, and turn to Him when we're free-falling into the darkness of despair? Sometimes, allowing us to be thrown into despair, into the desert, into a fish belly, is God's only way of getting our attention.

Three days and three nights provided Jonah with time to think and turn to God. Working on G! Magazine has given me ample opportunities for these trying moments. And how He has helped me out time and again. That's the reason why I come out each issue feeling stronger. The interesting thing about comparing life to a roller-coaster is that we can appreciate that it's much easier to drop to the bottom than to climb to the top.

If and when we get into these dark moments, it's a good time to think and regroup.

How many times have we experienced a test and blamed God or have gotten angry with Him for the test? Are we synchronised enough with God to see that God gives us endless opportunities to change and improve? Do we need to change our perspective, and try to see things through God's eyes? We all get swallowed by things that are bigger than us. But these things might not be meant to destroy us; they are meant to help us grow closer to God.

Follow the fish
The other amazing thing in chapter two is the big fish. The fish obeyed God. Just as the wind, the sea and the sky did. Imagine this! A fish is more obedient that God's own prophet! Doesn't that say so much?!

We were created to be the kings of the universe, to be in charge here. We are given authority to rule, but it is easy to forget that it's God's authority and name we rule with! And how have we let this revelation of power take over our heads. Even animals listen to God.

- Updated 1 Aug 2007