Jonah

I have always been fascinated by Jonah. We know how he made an attempt at running away from God’s will as he had a will of his own. He entered a ship and a storm blew up, and because of that the seamen became utterly scared. They threw Jonah into the sea and God made a fish swallow him.

It is likewise with us, when we try to escape God’s will thinking that we have a will of our own we are apt to enter our soul level (the ship) and behold everything that transpires in our lives from this limited vantage point. Hence, all kind of emotions are whipped up in us because of unbelief. The seamen represent those various emotions in us that signal danger and worries about the outcome.

We are in fact afraid we are going to go under and die. Therefore, we throw ourselves into the sea hoping to hide from God and that our emotions will calm down in the cool water. In a sense we throw ourselves out of the soul, that is, we deny our soul and its reactions not acknowledging its perfection since it also is subjected to the Spirit’s domain in Christ.

In the depths of the sea the fish awaits us, that is, the great darkness or blackness many of us know so well. Through Jonah we learn that everything that takes place in us is of God since God made the fish swallow him. Inside this darkness we finally give up opposing ourselves and God’s willing in us. When we surrender the fish vomits us out into clear daylight and dry ground. It is at this point a string of epiphanies light up our minds, and we recognize that our Father is driven by mercy and love in all things.

After some Jonah experiences we hopefully learn to rest in that we are one will with God and that He leads us perfectly along His paths in all things.