READ: Jonah 1:1-17; 2:1
Key Scripture: From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said: "In my distress, I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead, I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.” (Jonah 2:1).
THOUGHTS
Most intellectuals and sophisticated skeptics ridicule the story of Jonah because it doesn't seem to agree with the natural human reasoning, especially the part that says Jonah was swallowed and vomited. They would tell you that no whale can swallow a human being in the first place and that even if it does, the person would certainly never survive three days and three nights in its belly. God can do anything He wants. Hence, Jonah 1:17 makes it clear that God PREPARED a great fish to swallow Jonah. There in the belly of the fish, Jonah cried to God. Imagining Jonah in the fish's belly, what I see is a man in darkness, prison, tight corner and in distress. In his distress, he turned to the Lord and encountered God. Like Jonah, we sometimes find ourselves in distressing situations. Those situations are not meant to destroy us, but to draw us closer to God. While we are allowed to cry, let our cries be directed to God. Let us see our dark moments as opportunities to draw closer to God.