We all likely have heard the story in the Bible about Jonah and the whale. First, let me ask, do you actually believe it? Sometimes it’s hard to be a person of deep intelligence and faith at the same time because some things just don’t make sense. How did this real man end up in the belly of a real whale, and survive for 3 days? There are stories in the Bible that are known as parables and those are nothing more than teaching points made practical by made up stories. But let’s be clear, this isn’t one of them.



Jonah lived 700 years before Jesus. He was a prophet of God. The book of Jonah in the Old Testament tells his story. Then Jesus reminds everyone of his story in Matthew 12:40 and says, “For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” Jesus is saying, “Yes, as unbelievable as that was, it really happened … and now, something totally unbelievable is going to happen with me too.” Jesus would be crucified on the cross and he would hang there for all to see he was dead, his body would be put in a secure tomb, and three days later women would come to the tomb and find the stone had been rolled away and Jesus was no longer there, for he had risen.



It really happened. These are not made up stories. However, because they seem nearly unbelievable, faith is required here.



Did you know there was recently a lobster diver off the coast of Cape Cod who was swallowed by a humpback whale? For real. It happened. He was on the news being interviewed from the hospital. Now that man has a testimony! How absolutely incredible!



But, my guess would be it didn’t feel incredible while it was happening. Here this guy is swimming around on the bottom of the ocean catching lobsters and all of a sudden things just go dark. He never saw it coming. He initially thought he had been eaten by a shark, but in the darkness he realized he wasn’t injured. If it were a shark, he would have been shredded. So where was he? He could feel movement of his surroundings so he knew whatever he was in was moving in the water. He starts moving around as violently as he can. Hitting, kicking, desperately doing everything he can to get out of whatever he’s stuck in. And then, the whale surfaces, shakes his head and spits him out! INCREDIBLE!



None of that felt incredible while it was happening. And really, that’s the thing about a testimony … going through it is not incredible. It’s dark. It’s scary. It’s likely the opposite of what you were hoping for or had planned for your day. But girl, when you make it out …. hallelujah! That’s your testimony.



This man’s recent testimony reminds us Jonah and the whale is a real story. Yes, it happened … but have you ever asked WHY it happened?



Why was this prophet of God swallowed by a whale? Do you know? We don’t have to guess because scripture tells us plain and clear. Jonah 1: 1-3, “The Lord gave this message to Jonah, ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I see how wicked the people are.’ But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.”



Well, there’s the problem right there. Jonah was running from God. Running from God ended him up in the belly of a whale for a couple days where he could get his head and his heart right and try again in obedience to God.



Girl, have you been running from God? Maybe you don’t really think so because you have valid reasons for doing the things you’re doing and not doing what you’re not doing.