A fish story

Now that is one really big fish! I wonder if he prayed he would catch it? In the Godfather II, the oldest brother (Pauley) tells how he always was able to catch a fish because he prayed first. I guess this means that God prepared a fish just for him... Not all that surprising because it has happened before...


Jonah 1:17 WEB (R)
(17) Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:1-10 WEB (R)
(1) Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish's belly.
(2) He said, "I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.
(3) For you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me.
(4) I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.'
(5) The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head.
(6) I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.
(7) "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
(8) Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
(9) But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to Yahweh."
(10) Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.


The question is: What do you do with the fish once you get it? The picture certainly doesn't tell us and The Godfather didn't tell us, but this passage from Jonah does. Jonah reflected on his situation while in the fish and turned to God. God listened! In a way, God prepared a fish to prepare Jonah for something better - obedience. The result was that the city of Nineveh was spared destruction and Jonah was given an opportunity to learn even more about God and his mercy. The book of Jonah ends with the stubbornness of the prophet, so I can't say if he ever did learn his lesson, but I wonder if God would use an even bigger fish for round two?

Just look!

This is a picture of Melbourne, Australia at night. I love the reflections of the city lights on the water; simply beautiful. However, that is NOT why I chose this picture; rather, it was the sky. Look at the clouds, nothing unusual, right? Right, but normally I don't even notice clouds at night because somehow it seems strange to focus on them. Sometimes, even ordinary things take on a new significance when cast in a different light, such as this passage from the book of Acts.


Acts 19:11-12 WEB (R)
(11) God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul,
(12) so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and the evil spirits went out.


God used handkerchiefs to demonstrate HIS POWER, so, suddenly the mundane becomes the focus of attention. Look around, and if you are a spiritual sort of person, you will see God throughout your day and maybe even at night... just look! Miracles are optional!