Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:17 NIV

Jonah is in "time out".

God had asked him to go to Nineveh and he chose to head to the beach. 

Jonah was doing what I do and seeking something more comfortable.

Something easier. 

We don't know what it was about Nineveh and the task God had that caused Jonah to head to Tarshish, and he's probably just like us in that it can be complicated. There can be lots going on. 

And God arranged a quiet spot with no distractions for Jonah. 

Sometimes that's what we need. 

No cell coverage, no distractions in the big fish.

What's with the 3 days & 3 nights though? 

From our vantage point it does bring Jesus to mind. Jesus who did not run from God's call, but stepped into it, who went to Nineveh, to where the need was, where we are. 

Jesus who spent 3 days in the dark, not for his sake, but for ours. 

Jesus didn't run from our need, do what was easy, go to the beach, but entered into the story, and as unpleasant as the belly of a big fish must be, what Jesus suffered for us was infinitely worse. 

Jesus turned up.

For us.

For you. 

Because He Loves You. 

#dearlyloved

#jonah

#somethingtochewon