Way, Way Down

Jonah (Chapters) 1-2

Emotions are a blessing and a curse. The Lord made us with the ability to laugh, rejoice, cry, mourn, and everything in between. But with all these emotions and feelings we hold within our hearts, it is important to remember not to abuse their power, or let them consume your mind and actions. Letting these feelings blind you, isolate you from others, and lead you astray from God, is sometimes a little too convenient in today’s world. When you get caught up in your own feelings, you are unable to realize the reality around you, the friends you turn away from, and the family you suddenly despise because they disagree with you. Constant declaration of your opinion, that puts others down, is not only self-righteous and self-destructive, but signals to God that you believe yourself to know more than He. More times than not, we all let our opinions, views, and emotions have control over our spirit within us. But in our heart of hearts, we know that God is at the center of our spirit, and He can offer us peace and control over our feelings. He can offer us direction, and realization that we are not always right, despite age, amount of wisdom, or background. God knows that when you lean into Him, He will lighten the burden of hatred in your heart, and help you realize your potential through His will for you.

It took Jonah three long days and nights in the belly of a fish, to realize that he could not run away from God’s will. It was God’s will and command for Jonah to travel to Nineveh to warn the people there of their evil ways, and show them the way to salvation. Jonah was so consumed by his feelings of hatred for the people of Nineveh, that he turned away from God’s command, and went instead, toward the city of Tarshish. Jonah felt he knew better than God, and that the people of Nineveh were not worthy of salvation, and wished destruction upon them. It was with his hateful heart, and self-righteous mentality that Jonah turned away from his Lord, and His command. He soon found himself heading to Tarshish on a ship, in the middle of the sea, and caught in a terrible storm created by God. Jonah was completely oblivious to the anguish he brought upon the others on the ship by disobeying the Lord’s command. He fell asleep on the ship, ignoring the storm and waves that were raging all around him. The fearful sailors awakened Jonah and asked why his Lord was angry with them. It was at this time that Jonah admitted he had disobeyed his Lord, and ran away from His command. The sailors, fearing for their own lives, tossed Jonah into the sea, in hopes this would satisfy their Lord. By offering this lost soul to God, the sea suddenly became calm. But God wanted this opportunity, He wanted Jonah to realize his potential and how much the Lord loved him. It was then that the Lord created a large fish to swallow Jonah whole to save him from the crashing waves. Jonah spent three long days and nights way, way down below the sea in the belly of the fish where he prayed, repented, and reconnected with God. He came to realize that by following his selfish and hateful feelings, only deterred him from truly living, enjoying life, and spreading the word of God, which is what he was meant to do. He prayed, and healed his relationship with God. It was then, that God restored his mind, heart, and spirit to the fullest. Jonah’s restoration and proclamation of his faith in God was so powerful, that Jonah suddenly found himself hurled onto the dry land, fully restored by the love of God.

So, I ask you, have you been swallowed whole by your own pride, greed, and hateful opinions lately? Are you sitting in your own belly of hell? If you are, then all you need to do is pray. Let the Lord, Our Father, take all the burdens of hate, victim mentality, anger, and self-pity far away from your heart. If you will it, and pray on it, God’s will and power can make this possible. He will always be there to ease your worries, erase your spiteful thoughts, and increase your awareness of His love and forgiveness.

It is perfectly fine to have convictions and stand up for those who do not have a voice. But when you implement hate or bias, point fingers, ask someone to change their ways, or distort the word of God to promote your own agenda, then you have lost your way. You are acting on your feelings and not on your faith in God. We are all guilty of letting our feelings get the better of us more than we would like to admit; but just remember sometimes it takes a big fish and God’s love to get our heart back on the right path.

The Word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.