Hide and Go Seek:

Okay, we all know that Jonah got swallowed by a whale, right? But, do we actually know why he was done this way? One day, God told Jonah to go to preach at Ninevah. But Jonah, should i say, tried to run from God. He even tried to hide from God in the lower deck of a ship (which might I add was a bad idea.) Because of his little attempt to play hide-and-go-seek with God, the seas started to roar and the ship was "like to be broken" (Jonah 1:4c.) When the people on the boat started to worry, the also started to cast lots to see who might have caused this evil to happen to them, and, all of the lots fell on Jonah. He told them to throw him out of the boat so that the seas would calm down, and they did. God delivered a whale to swalow Jonah up and bring him to land. He stayed in the belly of the whale for three days, and three nights, where he prayed to God. When he was returned safely to dry land, he went to Ninevah and preached the Good News.

We all know that it is very unlikely that we will be swallowed up by a giant fish or thrown out of a boat, but God takes care of us in strange ways that we may not understand. Sometimes, bad things may happen to us, and we may think, "Why would God do this to me?" but God has a reason for everything that he allows to happen...the death of a Christian loved one, for instance, may seem so bad to us and bring us mourning and sorrow, but for them, it is a great time that should be rejoiced. There are many different situations similiar to Jonah's in some ways, and some that are totally different, but in every situation as the old cliche goes, "There is always a silver lining." We need to rejoice no matter what happens to us and we should never complain about our situtation, becuase it could be a lot worse.

For Further Study:

1. Read the book of Jonah

2. Try to find something good about every situation.

3. Pray: "Lord, help me to never complain about what is going on in my life. Please help me to always find something to thank you for and please help me to rejoice in my sorrow, pain, and in my joy. Amen."

 This devotional was written by Chelsea Knight.