An Attitude Like Jonah's Part 3, is based on Jonah 1:17-2:10 (nkjv).

"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights", Jonah 1:17.

Just as in the time of Elijah, there are times that God sends a strong wind, an earthquake or a large fire before He reveals Himself. Why? Sometimes the only way God can get our attention is by using extreme circumstances. I believe God allowed Jonah to get as far as he did from Ninevah to drive the point home to this stubborn prophet. After all, spending three days in a fishes belly wouldn't be quickly forgotten.

Having a large fish swallow Jonah was not God's first choice. Jonah already knew what he was supposed to do, but his refusal needed to be dealt with forcefully. God was not playing games. The people of Nineveh needed to be warned and Israel was to be given an example of repentance.

Before the Assyrians were to be warned, there was a very important lesson for Jonah. This lesson is symbolic of the three days that Christ spent in the grave on our behalf, with one very important distinction. Jonah's three days in the belly of the fish were brought upon by his own disobedience while Jesus went in the grave on our behalf despite His perfect obedience.

There is also another lesson in the prophet's experience for all of us. When we go through tough times, how often do we blame God when in reality, it was our disobedience that caused our problems. When looking introspectively, I see a lot of Jonah in me. Regrettably, I often find myself accusing the Lord of bringing problems upon me and yelling at Him for allowing problems in my life. But the truth is usually that I put myself in the situation by not listening in the first place. Praise God for His incredible patience and mercy.

Even if we do not intentionally do things that lead us into the belly of a fish, we will often find ourselves there. When problems arise, our connection to Christ will be revealed and our faith in Him will be tested. It is because God truly does love us that He allows these painful experiences. Through the toughest of times, Christ is standing by our side and attempting to separate the impurities in our lives from the gold. His goal is to reveal to us our character flaws so we can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome our faults.

While I do believe God would prefer to give us all we want, He is much more concerned about our salvation. Jesus notices all that happens here on planet Earth. He will never let anything happen to us that we are unable to bear. Even though we may have put ourselves in the situation that troubles us, we may take comfort knowing that when Jonah cried out to God, the fish spit him out on dry land. No matter what you are experiencing, Jesus is by your side.