Have you ever been so hungry that your belly growls? For me, it always seems to be at the worse time – like during church or at a funeral or in a quiet meeting room. R-O-A-R….. it tumbles and growls and there is just no stopping it. It is telling me that is in need of something – perhaps chocolate! But definitely in need of food.
Jonah was a prophet whom God called to preach in a foreign country. When Jonah felt God calling him to go to the foreign land, he got scared and told God he wasn’t going. He rebelled and ran away. He thought he was hiding from God. But one day when he was fishing with his buddies, the seas became very high and the sailors believed they were going to die.
Jonah begged his boat mates to throw him overboard after he explained the distress was due to his disobedience. They hurriedly obeyed his request, but Jonah didn’t die. Instead, a huge fish swallowed him up and he was floating around in the belly of this fish for a few days. I’m sure it was stinky and gross, filled with slime and garbage. Jonah knew that he had to surrender to the Lord and do what God had instructed him to do.
When he asked for forgiveness and told God he would obey, he was spit out of the mouth of the fish. Then Jonah went to this foreign land as instructed and preached God’s word warning the people to turn from their wicked ways.
Where are you in your spiritual walk today? Are you in the boat that’s rocking? Are you in the belly of the fish that’s growling? Or are you on the dry land doing what God has called you to do?
If you haven’t surrendered to God’s calling, I urge you to surrender today, Allow God to spew you out onto dry land to serve Him. You may be nervous to obey, but I guarantee you it will be better than sloshing around in the muck of the growling tummy!
