I was thinking about the story of Jonah the other day and God pointed out to me how we oftentimes find ourselves in the belly of the whale-just like Jonah was. Imagine how he must have felt-first of all running from God because he didn't want to do the thing that God asked him to do (how often does that happen to us!) And then, boom! All of a sudden he is swallowed up by a huge whale. He is in total darkness and has no idea where this violent, thrashing beast is going to spit him out at.
We go through this in our lives. Maybe we're not really swallowed by a gigantic fish-but it sure feels like we have been doesn't it? We can't see our way out. We can't determine which way is up and all we are left with in that darkness is the fact that we didn't follow God's commands...we didn't do what He asked because it seemed too much and too hard....and so now, it's even worse. We're lost, all alone and in the dark.
Remember how the whale spit Jonah up just at the place that God wanted him to go in the first place? Well, this too happens to us when we get swallowed up by the whale in our lives. He will turn over our turnip cart (as my granny used to say) and then, He will send us through a period of chaos where we can't see what's happening-we can't tell what direction we should go in....But God never fails us.
Eventually we will be spat out on the shore to continue our walk through this life-and we'll be right where He said to go in the first place. There is comfort in that, I feel. So, if you're in the belly of the whale today--take heart. God hasn't forgotten you-and you aren't nearly as lost as you think you are.
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