On Jonah’s Journey // Jonah 1:17

Jonah 1:17 (CSB) The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

The Book of Jonah is fairly well known. God called Jonah to go to Nineveh to talk to the people about coming back to Him. Jonah didn’t want to and tried fleeing from God. Ultimately, Jonah realized he couldn’t escape God as a massive storm came and threatened the boat on which he was traveling. God protected Jonah from the storm by having a great fish — likely a whale — to swallow Jonah and eventually deliver him to the shore once Jonah came to his senses.

It’s strange to think about how some of these calamities in life are actually God’s providential interventions. God knows all and sees all. There are times we must face crises to ensure we are right place, physically and faithfully alike. That was true for Jonah just like it was for Joseph in the book of Genesis; Mary and Joseph as Jesus’ parents; Peter and the other disciples; the Apostle Paul; and many others. I see how it’s been true in my life and am convinced it’s the same for you.

Believe me when I say that God does not visit evil on any of us, but He uses such things to help us know that there is so much more to living when we give our lives to Him; otherwise, like Jonah, we will take matters into our own hands with calamitous results. I’m sure Jonah didn’t appreciate his oceanic Air B&B in the belly of the whale, but at the same time, that’s how God safely transported him from the middle of the angry sea to the safety of the shore…the very place Jonah was always intended to be.