Running from God
In 2019, photographer Rainer Schimpf was off the coast of South Africa shooting footage of marine life when he found himself halfway inside the mouth of a Bryde's whale. He was concerned that he would be dragged below the surface and die, but the whale promptly spit him out.
In an interview, Schimpf jokingly said, "I don't think I had a whale of a time. I now have the inside knowledge of a whale, which nobody else has."
Nobody except Jonah, that is.
There's probably no story in the Bible more ridiculed than the story of Jonah. Some suggest that it's a metaphor, while others say there is no way that a person could be swallowed by a whale.
However, I believe the story is true for two reasons. First, it's in the Bible, and I believe that what's in the Bible is true. Second, Jesus validated the story (see Matthew 12:39–41).
To be clear, the Bible doesn't say it was a whale that swallowed Jonah; rather, it says that a "great fish" swallowed him. Whatever it was that swallowed the prophet, I'm not concerned about it. That's because the focus of the story is not a whale or a great fish. The point is that the greatest revival in Scripture took place. One million very wicked people put their faith in God and turned from their sins.
We don't want to miss the bigger story.
God had called Jonah to preach in the city of Nineveh, a place renowned for the horrific atrocities its inhabitants committed against the people they conquered. Here was Jonah's concern: He knew that God likes to forgive people who repent. He feared that if he went and preached to the Ninevites, they would repent, and God would forgive them.
Thus, Jonah surmised that if he didn't go to Nineveh and preach, the people wouldn't repent, and as a result, God would judge them. That would be one less enemy to deal with. So, he boarded a ship going the opposite direction.
The Bible gives us this interesting detail about Jonah: "So he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord" (Jonah 1:3 NKJV, emphasis added).
If you run away from God, you always will pay the fare. It's been said that sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
On the way to Tarshish, a great storm came along, and the sailors, who'd spent a lot of time in the open water, started to panic. They had never seen a storm of that kind before. They believed in many gods, and in their estimation, some god out there was ticked off.
They wanted to know which one it was, so they told everyone to call on their god. But there was no response, and the storm was getting worse. Then they remembered the stranger below deck who was fast asleep.
The captain woke Jonah and shouted, "How can you sleep at a time like this? Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives" (Jonah 1:6 NLT). The Bible goes on to say they cast lots to see who was the source of all the trouble.
When the lot fell to Jonah, they found the answer they were looking for. He told them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me" (verse 12 NKJV).
The sailors didn't want to do that. They tried harder to reach land, but the storm was too intense. So, they reluctantly threw Jonah overboard, and the storm ceased immediately.
Then the Bible says, "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (verse 17 NKJV).
Jesus used the story of Jonah as an illustration. He said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:39–40 NKJV).
In other words, "You want to see a miracle? You want a sign? Here it is: I will die on a cross for the sins of the world. Then I will rise from the dead. That's my sign to you. If you want to be forgiven of your sins, then believe, because I'm the sacrifice."
Jonah was a sacrifice, and he lived to tell about it. But there's another fascinating detail in his story: "Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows" (verse 16 NKJV).
Even though Jonah was a lousy witness, these men still believed. It serves as a reminder that sometimes even when we're messing up, God can still use us.
And if God can still use us even when we're not exactly where we ought to be, just think how effectively he can use us when we are where we ought to be. In Jonah's case, when he finally got it together, a spiritual awakening happened.
Before we can see an awakening on the outside, we must first have a personal revival on the inside. It cannot happen through us until it first happens to us.
Maybe you've tried to make some changes in your life. Maybe you've tried to clean up your life a little. But you don't clean up your life to come to Christ. You come to Christ, and he will clean up your life.
Come with your problems. Come with your sins. And realize that you can't save yourself any more than a drowning man can save himself. You have to call out for help, and Jesus will forgive you of all your sins. He is ready to do that. He is everything that you're looking for in life.
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