Dark, Frantic, and Broken
"Seaweed was wrapped around my head." I don't remember this being a part of the story. For some reason this time it struck me with a clear picture of humiliation and being dragged into the depths of despair. Of his being plunged to his darkest hours. How did Jonah get to this point?
Have we all, at some point, rebelled to the point of such despondency?
Jonah would not let go of his anger, resentment, and pride long enough to obey God. He needed to repent of his holier-than-thou attitude and simply give a group of people a chance to turn to God. It hurt so much to release these people of their guilt that he ran until he was swallowed by a fish. Even then, though he turned to God, he didn't say he would go. Not until later in the story did he make his way back to Nineveh.
So easy to be judgmental of Jonah, isn't it. But I have been in this place where, until I really took in the tumultuous waves and darkness around me, did I bring myself back to where God needed me to be. A turn of thought or a change of perspective can rescue a heart from brokenness and frantic fear. When God allows us to go off on our own He reminds us how dark it can be without him. The struggle we find ourselves in is not the hard part, it's facing these consequences without the help of God.
God needed Jonah to repent. He needed Nineveh to repent. When an archer aims their arrow at a target and misses, the term that is used to help them get back on target is to repent. Repent to one side or the other. Repent farther out or closer in.
The story of Jonah is about repentance and of mercy.
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