To ancient peoples, the sea was the edge of the known world, a place where creation separated from the dominion of man, transitioning to a realm of death and chaos. It’s from that abyss that the great fish came to snatch Jonah, giving him exactly what he had set out to find, a place away from the presence of the LORD.

Last Spring, I became very ill and eventually found out I have a chronic illness. Some of the symptoms I endured felt like a storm inside my body and brain, and while going through this, I asked, “God, why are you putting me through this?”  It felt so unfair. Although it was a trying time, I learned more than ever to turn to God and lean on him.

During the storm that Jonah and the other Gentiles endured, it became evident to all of them that they were in this predicament because of Jonah’s unfaithfulness to God. Jonah took ownership of this and even decided to sacrifice himself to save strangers. He tells the other men on the boat to throw him overboard to help calm the storm. 

What do you fear most? Spiders? Snakes? Heights? When we think of our worst fears, we can feel very terrified. However, do we ever fear God? I know that there are times when I do, but other times I should and don’t. We should be able to have a healthy fear of God and fear of not following Him, just as a child can fear their parents. 

Irony is a funny thing. Sometimes, what we are looking for is right in front of our faces, like when we are looking for the glasses sitting on top of our heads. Or, what we are running from happens to be inescapable, no matter how hard we try to avoid it.