Right Place, Right Time

“Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” ~Jonah 1:17 (NIV) This sounds like a problem, right? Read on to see that Jonah ended up in the right place, at the right time.

The other day, a humpback whale “swallowed” a Massachusetts man off the coast of Cape Cod. A rare accident, the man was lobster diving and the whale spit him out as soon as it realized that it consumed something much larger than krill. While he only made it as far as the mouth, this was clearly a harrowing experience. He truly believed that death was imminent. Naturally, this made me ponder the story of Jonah.

For the first time ever, I imagined what it would be like to be swallowed by a fish. To say the least, I assume that he was petrified. Like the Cape Cod man above, once a fish eats you, you can assume that you are dead. It was dark, pitch black. A cold terror would then begin to course through his veins. It was sticky, smelly, and “seaweed was wrapped around his head” (Jonah 2:5 NIV). Quite the picture. He must have desperately prayed, repented, and then waited for death. For three days and three nights. That’s a long time!

In that literal worst-case scenario, Jonah has no idea that the exact fish that he believes will take his life, actually saved it. Hurled overboard, into the sea amid a great storm, Jonah had few choices. Therefore, if the fish had not swallowed him, he would have met a quick death. Drowning, hypothermia, perhaps a shark attack would have meant the end of his story. Scripture says that the Lord “provided“ the fish (1:17 NIV). While I’m simply focusing on the life-saving miracle of the fish, it goes without saying that this miracle also translated into the salvation of thousands of Ninevites and a chance to participate as a prophetic example of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, this harrowing encounter with the fish was far and away the best thing that ever happened to Jonah.

He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry.” ~Jonah 2:2 (NIV)

I recently was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Not the best-case scenario, not the worst. But it has been really frightening. Soon after my first surgery, the Lord brought me to these Scriptures. It makes me wonder, at the same time that I am in the midst of something that seems really bad, perhaps this has been the Lord’s plan all along? “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose,” (Romans 8:28 NIV).

Maybe my storm is the thing that I need right now. Good will happen, because God said so. I’m in the belly of the fish right now. But throughout the Bible, the Lord eventually calms every storm. I trust the One who created the seas, the “Maker of all things,” (Isaiah 44:24).

Three days and nights later, it all worked out. And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. ~Jonah 2:10 (NIV). Deep breath. It’s going to be okay.

Your Turn

Have you ever experienced something that you believed would be awful, that surprisingly ended up being for your good? Are you in the midst of a storm right now? Take heart, you are in the right place, at the right time.