Fishy Business

“Oh Lord, why?” Have you ever faced a situation in your life that made you utter these words? Perhaps a rough financial situation, physical suffering, or a dying relationship provokes these words; whatever the cause, we find ourselves in enough discomfort to question why it is happening to us. Sometimes we come up with an answer for it, and sometimes we don’t. We may blame ourselves, blame others, blame God or go through a cycle of blame, but we can’t help but to ask ourselves why.  

Jonah found himself in a “Why God?” situation even though he had a good idea of why! Onboard a sinking ship he confesses that the storm is because of his disobedience. However, the storm did not cause Jonah to repent. It was only once he was isolated and distraught, sitting in the belly of a great fish that God had prepared just for him, that Jonah feels enough distress to cry out to God in repentance and change his choices. God did not send the great fish to consume Jonah, but to consume his hardened will. He had a great plan and purpose for Jonah, but it was not going to happen through Jonah until Jonah was at a point of total submission to God. Bad things in our lives can come from different sources and for different reasons, but we should always run an attitude check to make sure that the reason for our fishy situation is not our stinky attitude. The good news is that Jonah came out of that ugly situation smelling like a rose! Well, in God’s sight anyway!

This blog was inspired by a thought from my father, Herbert Witmyer.

Photo from: ttp://dailyinspires.com/finding-nemo-wallpapers/