| What does God have to do to “capture” your undivided attention? |
I wonder what Jonah thought as he sat in the belly of that whale. I imagine him sitting with his back against a side of the belly wall resting his head in his hands wondering how he had gotten into this “fine kettle of fish.” Did he sit there berating himself for all his past mistakes that led up to where he was? I’m sure he must have felt hopeless as he sat there, incredulous that he was actually in the belly of a whale. No human answer to appease the situation.
Although I have never found myself in the “belly of a whale” I have found myself in situations that no matter what angle I looked at it – seemed “hopeless” and like there was no way out. Ironically, most of those “deep belly” situations are situations that we have allowed ourselves to walk straight into. I often wonder if God watches us like we watch a movie… Like the scenes in a movie where the person is about to face danger or make an unwise decision, do you think God watches us and says, “No! No! Don’t take that left! Don’t go in there!” But stupidly blind we do just that, and then we wonder how we got where we were in the first place…
I’m quite sure that all Jonah could do while he sat in the belly of that whale, was pray. He couldn’t run from God anymore – there was no place to run! He was at a point where all he could do was reflect on what had gotten him there and pray that God would deliver him. Can you imagine what it was like? No doubt it was wet, cold and dark and probably very lonely. I imagine he could feel the body of the whale moving as the creature moved throughout the depths of the sea. I’m sure Jonah was incredulous that he was still alive. I imagine the only thing he could do to keep his sanity was to pray – to talk to God. And God obviously wanted Jonah’s undivided attention to use one of the earth’s biggest creatures to capture him so that he would finally be still and listen! What does it take for God to capture your attention? What does He have to do to bring you to a point where the distractions and noise are at a minimum and you are finally willing to listen to what it is He has to say? Sometimes we are surrounded with so much noise from our lives that we are missing what it is God has to say to us because we don’t know how to “be still and know He is God.”
There have been times in my life when I have “run from God.” Either because I’m being wayward and like a spoiled disobedient child who “just wants her way” or because I have wandered off the pathway and gotten lost – like a dumb sheep. So lost that not unlike what it must have been like for Jonah – all I can do once I’ve gotten tired of going around in circles, is to sit down, get quiet and talk to God. The talking to Him is sometimes as difficult as the wandering. Sometimes I haven’t known where to start in the conversation…
“Lord? It’s me… Ummm… I’m kind of lost… With my words and in my walk… I’m really glad you know my thoughts before I even think them because – I’m not sure I even understand them myself at this point… I need your help Father. I don’t know who else to turn to… Please help me. Please forgive me. Please guide me…”
I believe God honors prayers that come from the heart. No matter the situation or how we got to that point. I believe that God allows us to be “dumb sheep” and go through a situation because it will humble us and make us even more aware that we need Him. Perhaps He just wants to hear it from us.
I have no doubt that even as Jonah sat contemplating his fate, not knowing what was going to happen, speaking most likely from his heart to God and finally ready to listen, that unbeknown to Jonah that whale was already on route towards land, where God would have Jonah vomited up upon the earth – with finally a clearer understanding of what God wanted, and the right mindset to go forth with the calling God had chosen him to do.
God has a calling on each of our individual lives. We can either “go with the tide” or fight it every step of the way to still come back to the point where we realize that true satisfaction, peace and well being comes with obeying what God has given us to do with our lives. Even in writing those words, I see it so clearly – there is a plan for your life, as there was with Jonah’s and it is one that God has given you gifts to achieve. He is a patient, loving Father who wants the best for you and being your Creator, knows what that “best” is. Isn’t it time you stopped running from God? It may not be the actual “belly of a whale” you find yourself currently in – but discouraged, depressed and with a lack of peace. Probably all of which Jonah felt himself (and more!). It only takes a conversation with your Heavenly Father to turn a situation around, just as God turned the whale around. Who knows? He could be turning your situation around even as you read these words. Trust Him. He knows what He’s doing and He loves you.
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