Have you ever reached the conclusion that you have just made a huge mistake? Most of us, at some time, will have had one of those experiences where we realise we have just made the wrong decision and the consequences will be tough; they may be with us for some time. World news is full of stories of the events that follow something foolish, risky or speculative that went wrong. Often these are amusing, or temporarily significant – just occasionally they lead to a massive tragedy like the Grenfell Tower fire, for example.
The last verse of Jonah chapter 1 and chapter 2 describe the remarkable story of Jonah being rescued from the sea by a whale, transported to dry land and vomited up. The body of the narrative is Jonah’s heartfelt prayer of petition and thanksgiving that starts while he is in the whale before the rescue is complete. [Jonah 2:1] ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me’.
The story of the whale takes us to the realms of the unbelievable but rather than arguing about the probability of God’s ability to effect such a miracle, why not, instead, stay focused on the times when less mystical vehicles have transported you from somewhere very wrong to a better place, or circumstances have shifted marginally, and what seemed disastrous turns out better than feared or previous mistakes deserved.
Later on in the book of Jonah we will find that his pleasure with God will not be unabated and forever. Notice at this stage that the chain of events is that 1) he is thrown into the sea, 2) he is swallowed by the whale and 3) he prays. God rescues Jonah ahead of his prayer because his work on earth is not complete. Jonah has flaws but he is a God fearing man and God loves all and gives second chances to those whose human frailty lets them down.
There will be times when God wants us to do something and we resist it. When we make wrong choices but something or someone else mysteriously mitigates the damage and we end up in the right place, we may well have experienced a ‘whale’ moment. That is why our prayers to God for forgiveness for our foolish resistance to his guidance are so important.
Next time you make a wrong choice, do not let despair intervene but instead, call to the Lord. Things may not turn out as badly as you expect or there may be blessings in the worst of situations.
Prayer
God of extraordinary methods, we take wrong turnings in our lives and relationships and head for disaster but something suddenly lessens the consequences; you are enable interventions not envisaged that turn us sometimes only slightly, to a better path. We thank you that you watch us and sometimes intervene even before we ask for help. We thank you for your great love that softens the self-inflicted blows of our own actions. God of the whale, give us the grace to accept that you may not let us hide from your call when you have a purpose to be fulfilled that has our name on it.
Amen.