No One Saw What Went on Inside the Fish.
Read Jonah, Chapter 2
Jonah was thrown overboard in the midst of a raging storm at sea and the storm stopped, completely. God used the storm to get Jonah right where he wanted him. Jonah hit the water and the next thing he knew, he was swallowed whole by a giant fish, perhaps a whale. The species doesn’t matter. But no one expected to see Jonah alive again.
Did the sailors see Jonah sink below the surface and disappear? Did they see the fish swallow him? We don’t know; Scripture doesn’t say. What we do know is that Jonah was swallowed and God used Jonah’s ‘capture’ to do a work in his heart. Here’s the thing, no one saw what went on inside the fish. There Jonah was, in the belly of the fish…alive, yet surely doomed...a least by human understanding. But God saw him. God knew exactly where he was and, he was exactly where God wanted him.
Jonah 2:1 “From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.” Jonah prayed. That’s the first time in the record that Jonah prayed. He didn’t pray when the Lord told him to go to Nineveh. He didn’t pray when he was on the ship. He didn’t pray in the storm or when he was confronted with his culpability for the storm and the lives at risk. No, it wasn’t until Jonah could no longer run, that he prayed.
And here’s the thing…no one saw what went on inside the fish. It was between God and Jonah. Spectators were not required. The opinions of others did not matter. No one needed to weigh in on the process to provide guidance or approval. Sometimes God needs to take us to a place in life where all we can do is depend on Him- there is no other way out.
Jonah knew, keenly, that he was at the mercy of his Almighty God.. His prayer is one of confession, humility and acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and might.
In his distress, he calls to the Lord for help, and he’s confident God hears him (v. 2)
Sometimes God allows our sons and daughters need to experience distress so they will call out to Him
He acknowledges God put him in this desperate situation; He threw him into the ‘deep end’ where he was unable to help himself. (v. 3)
God allows desperate situations. We don’t like to see them, but we need to trust Him. It’s all within His power to control and resolve. We are not the ‘lifeguard’, God is.
Jonah knew he was in a ‘no way out’ situation- threatened by the waters, surrounded by the deep and sinking to the ‘roots of the mountains’, and totally dependent on the mercy and grace of God (v. 5-6)
What will it take for our sons and daughters to recognize that without God, they are lost, doomed, sinking into the depths? Are we willing to allow God to bring them to that place?
Verse 7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.”
It wasn’t until Jonah was in a no-way-out situation, his death was imminent, that he humbled himself before the Lord. Psalm 139:16 “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before any of them came to be.” All the days ordained… the life of our sons and daughters is well-within the hand of the Lord, even if they are not surrendered to Him. Unless it’s the day God ordained for them to die, they will not. He is capable of sustaining them through even the most dire situation and use that to turn their hearts.. Do we trust Him?
Jonah repented. He surrendered to God. verse 9 says, “What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.” And once Jonah repented, God completed the rescue, and gave Jonah a second chance to obey.
Jonah’s rescue was a two-stage event. First he was swallowed by a fish, because Jonah needed to be in a no-way-out situation so God could get his attention. He was swallowed whole- certain death, but in that certain death, Jonah found life in his Lord God. The second stage of the rescue was when Jonah was brought back to land. God didn’t just let him remain in the fish because God had more for Jonah to do.
Friends, sometimes God will take our sons and daughters into desperate, life-threatening situations. And we are afraid. We plead and cry out for them. We throw everything overboard in an attempt to save them. But that storm? It’s all in the hands of God. He is the Lord of the land and the sea (Jonah 1:9). He is the master of the wind and the waves, and they obey Him (Mark 4:39-41) You see, the wind and waves obey him, but his children often do not. We can trust Him that He controls everything our sons and daughters experience and He uses it for His purposes. The wind and waves obeyed God and did His bidding. The fish obeyed God and did His bidding. We might fear the storm, we might not see what goes on in the belly of the fish, but we can trust that the storm and the rescue are all in the hands of our loving Heavenly Father.
Today, let’s pray for our sons and daughters, that God would not necessarily calm the storm, but would use it to draw them closer to Him. Let’s pray that God would bring them to a place where they have no other option but to cry out to and trust Him. If God calmed the storm before Jonah was in the sea, he likely would have continued to run. Do we want calm….or do we want authentic surrender? If Jonah hadn’t been thrown into the sea, he wouldn’t have ended up in the fish- his no-way-out place of surrender. If we just want God to end the storm, we might forfeit the rescue and repentance that would result. Let’s pray carefully, focused on the Master of the waves and the Maker of our sons and daughters.
“Father, you see what’s going on in (name’s) heart and life today. You know whether they are surrendered to You or running away. Lord, I pray that You would use circumstances and other people to point them back to Christ. I don’t like to see the struggle, Lord, but I know you can use it. I would jump in and save them- it hurts to see them struggle. Yet I know You use the struggle to get their attention. Please work in them. I trust that You are the Lord and Master of the wind and waves…and they obey You. I know they will not consume (name) in defiance of Your will. I know You can provide rescue. Help me to trust Your work. No one saw what happened inside the fish, Lord. And I know that I don’t need to watch the process and weigh in on what You choose to do and how it unfolds. I just need to trust You. Lord, I’m willing to step back and allow You to work. I won’t cling to methods and plans of my own. I pray for mercy and grace. Lord, work in (name)’s heart ahd life today. Bring them to a place of surrender. Guide them to salvation in You and bring them to a life of obedience in Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Pray without ceasing.
God Uses the Storms
Today, read Jonah, chapter 1
We all know the story of Jonah. But let’s have a quick recap, shall we? Jonah was a prophet of God, called to take God’s message of pending judgment to a city called Nineveh. Nineveh wasn’t just a city, the Bible calls it a ‘great city’- it had significance….and it was full of wickedness.
Jonah knew all about Nineveh and he was less than interested in going there to share God’s warning and in how they should repent. In Jonah’s eyes, they deserved what was coming.
So Jonah ran. He ran in the opposite direction, away from Nineveh and away from God.
Let’s stop here. Do you have a son or daughter who is running from God? He sees and He knows! Don’t despair. God is working…
Now, back to Jonah…God let him run. He let Jonah board a ship headed for Tarsus. And Jonah wasn’t shy about sharing why he was headed to Tarsus. He told the sailors he was running from God. (1:10). But the sailors didn’t know or fear the Almighty God. There were many gods among them and it was more of a “Hey, whatever works for you, man” sort of thing. So running from God wasn't a cause for concern…until the storm.
God brought a storm that was wild and fierce. It challenged these seasoned sailors and after doing all they could on their own to save the ship, they began asking who was responsible for making all this trouble. Clearly, they sensed a spiritual aspect to this storm.
And Jonah? He was indifferent…asleep in the bottom of the ship- so disconnected that the captain had to wake him from a deep sleep. You see, in his running from God, he’d stopped listening to the Lord and he became insensitive and indifferent to God’s working. (Sometimes, when we run from God, we reach a place where we no longer hear His voice, but God is still working).
Jonah owned up to his part in the storm. When he confessed that he worshiped the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the land, the sailors were struck with fear. Now, here is where the account grows even more interesting… Jonah’s solution to save the ship and the men on it was to have them throw him overboard. We don’t know what his thoughts were- had he had a change of heart? Did he know God would save him? Was he simply owning his defiance and accepting his ‘fate’? The sailors didn’t want to do it…they continued trying everything else, but finally agreed that in order to have any chance at survival, they must do what Jonah said.
They threw him overboard. And they pleaded with God to not hold them accountable for Jonah’s life. They pleaded to God. Did you catch that? God used this storm to bring these sailors to a realization that there is One True God. They prayed, offered sacrifices to Him. They feared the Lord and made vows to Him. (1:15-16) Sometimes the storm isn’t just about us. Sometimes, God uses the storms to impact those around us and He uses our storms to bring others to Him.
And Jonah? Well, God provided a fish to swallow him. And here’s the thing…no one saw what went on inside the fish. No one. Yet, God was working. Remember that.
Friends, is your son or daughter in the midst of a storm? Step back and look at the big picture. Maybe God will use that storm to speak into their life…or maybe He’ll use it to speak into someone else’s life. That storm might not only be for your son or daughter. Does it seem like they’re indifferent to God? Keep praying. God is still working. Does it seem like the consequences of their choices have swallowed them whole- all is lost, there is no hope? God is STILL working- remember, no one saw what went on inside the fish. But God did. And he put Jonah there for a reason. And He’s allowed your son or daughter to be where they are for a reason. He’s not done working. Trust Him. Continue to pray. Ask God to calm the storm and reassure your faith. The next part of the story is coming… and God uses it for good!
“Father, You are the Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Lord of the sea and the land. I trust You. Lord, sometimes all I can see is the storm. I worry for (name) and long for them to surrender to You. I know You are working, yet, I don’t see it. Give me spiritual eyes to recognize that even in the storm, You’re working and You don’t stop. I pray that (name) would grow sensitive to Your voice. Make their heart tender toward You. Burden them with their sin, their defiance, their indifference and draw them to surrender. I pray, Lord, that you would use this storm to shake them from their complacency to stand before You and acknowledge You are Lord of all. Father, put (name) wherever they need to be in order to hear Your voice. And help me to trust You that even when I can’t see what’s going on ‘inside the fish’ that You are there and You’re moving, changing hearts and drawing those who have run away, back to You. Lord, I pray that You would draw (name) back to you today. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Pray without ceasing.