Reflection for July 23, 2014

"But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."(Jonah 1:17)

When my sons were younger, we had as many parents at the time had a punishment known as a time out.  Similar to being sent to your room, except you don't want their room to be seen as place you go when you're in trouble.

The Jonah in the belly of the fish is one of those Bible stories that everyone seems to know.  Heck even Jesus liked it enough to refer to it.  Great pictures in Children's Bibles with a whale spewing Jonah up onto the beach.  Funny how the Bible doesn't actually call it a whale, at least my translation doesn't.  Disney must have been a huge fan of the story since he put Pinocchio in a similar position.

What kind of a "great fish" it was isn't actually important.  Whether fish would swallow a whole human being is also to miss the point.  What the story shows to me is that when we are going the wrong way or doing the opposite of what we are supposed to be doing, God might give us a time out.
A chance to reflect on the choice we've made and whether we might want to reconsider that decision.

These timeouts are not usually as spectacular as this, usually more like a gut feeling that makes you pause and consider what you are doing or where you are going.  Gives you a chance to calm down, get centered and hopefully make the right choice.

Blessings,
Ed