You might remember Jonah, the reluctant prophet? He refused to go where God sent him, got thrown overboard from a ship, and then got swallowed by an enormous fish.
That would have been horrendous. Jonah spent three days and three nights crammed into the slimy, acidic stomach of a living creature, jolting around the ocean, being slowly digested with the fish guts, seaweed, and salt-water swirling round him. He prayed and repented, and then God sent the fish to vomit him onto dry land.
We’ve all had our low points haven’t we? And yet God has an amazing way of interweaving His grace into our stories. What Jonah might not have known as he lay there bleached white by stomach acid and the sea, is that the Assyrians (the people to whom God was sending him) already had legends about a holy fish-man who came from the sea! Imagine him telling his story in the market place and the city streets! His experience made him the perfect person for the task ahead.
If you’re feeling low, have a read of Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2 today. There are some great clues about how to keep a good attitude in the darkest of places. And remember, God is always able to use the best and worst of our stories, even when they took us to the bottom of the ocean and back.
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