Jonah 1:17 Preparations
Jonah has gone overboard because his sin brought the storm down on the sailors. But God had already made preparations for this!
God is NOT a ‘last minute, fly by the seat of your pants’ kind of God. He prepares LONG in advance and waits until just the right moment to bring about His plans. If EVER you doubted this, look at Jonah and THEN look at His plan of salvation.
This fish God sent didn’t simply appear out of nowhere. He grew in the ocean until that moment in time when he would be needed by God. Many have said that this fish was a whale. A normal whale cannot swallow something that big. Even an orca, killer whale, can’t swallow a human whole. It kills them and then chews them into bite sized pieces. So, this “great fish” was special. One unlike ANY OTHER fish ever created. We will call him a ‘genetic abnormality’. One God created just for this task.
God knew in advance of calling Jonah to go to Nineveh that Jonah would try and run away. He knew about the storm. And He knew Jonah would tell them to throw him overboard. He was READY when it happened. NOTHING surprises Him!
If you think THIS is great planning, look back at the moment of creation. Before God even said “Let there be…” He had a plan in place for our salvation. He KNEW Eve would be sucked in by Satan’s lie. He KNEW Adam would choose her over Him, in this instance at least. He KNEW the date of Jesus’ birth. He KNEW that the Jews would reject Jesus. He KNEW the pain Jesus would suffer on the cross. He KNEW the astonishment the disciples would experience when Jesus rose from the grave. He even knew they would doubt the women’s accounts. He KNOWS EVERY PERSON who has ever and will ever turn to Jesus as Lord of their lives. He KNOWS the day of Jesus’ return and EVERY life involved in it; who will live and who will die.
God doesn’t just KNOW these things, but He prepares for them LONG in advance. He works through many different avenues. In Jonah’s story, He used the wind and the rain and a specially crafted fish. He even used the sailors and their fears in His plan. He had EVERYTHING in place for the moment it was needed. I believe He even held the fish back while the sailors tried to keep from throwing Jonah overboard. At the EXACT time in ALL of history, God brought this “great fish” within spitting distance of this particular boat. Jonah surely would have drowned if it were any other way.
Don’t think for a moment that God is ANY less prepared for the things we walk through each day. We may never need such a drastic rescue, but there is evidence of His preparations when we look for them. My most memorable moment happened one day when I was feeling so low I didn’t know what to do. My children and I were FAR from our family, struggling financially, and needed a little ‘boost’ in my faith.
I was driving home from work one day and worrying about paying for gas before payday. As I was driving, I sent a quick ‘prayer’ heavenward. “God, would you please put a check in my mailbox for me. Even $10 would be appreciated.” When I got home, I checked the mail and there was a check waiting for me. One I was NOT expecting in any way. It was for, I believe, $15. It met the needs of the moment and gave my faith a HUGE boost. Later I wished I had asked for a larger amount, but it was what I needed at the time.
God HAD to have prepared as least days in advance for this miracle to happen the day I REALLY needed it. He didn’t materialize the check out of nowhere. He put His fingers into my life and caused that check to arrive the exact day my faith, and my wallet, needed it.
I know this is long for one single verse but I want to share one more ‘God’s preparation’ story. In this one, He used me for someone else’s ‘just in time’ moment. I received a large screen TV through UPS. I didn’t not order it but my name was on the package. I was actually home and met the UPS driver this day. I told him that I hadn’t ordered it but he asked if I would take it anyway because he was new and didn’t know the process for refusing a package. He said that he would have someone contact me about it in a day or so.
I accepted the package and brought it into my home. Then I did a thorough examination of the packaging and found a label with a name and phone number on it. I called the number and found the rightful owner of the package. We talked about who we would need to contact to get this to her. Then we talked about life.
Her husband had recently died and she was feeling very low. I asked her if I could pray for her. She broke down crying, saying that she had just asked God for comfort that day. I broke down crying too and we prayed together over the phone that moment. I was able to give her encouragement only because GOD had provided me with her package and her phone number. I felt, and still feel, VERY BLESSED to have been part of His plan for one of His children.
The TV was picked back up a few days later and arrived at her home within a week. ONLY GOD could have pulled MY name out of the UPS ‘hat’ that let me be a blessing for someone at their MOMENT of need!
Father God, THANK YOU for reminding me of these stories of YOUR hands in my life. Reading a bible story of Your preparation is amazing, but SEEING it in action BLOWS MY MIND! You love me THAT MUCH!!! All I can say is WOW, and bow my head in THANKS. NO ONE will EVER convince me that You are not interested in even the little things in my life. I have too much proof to the contrary.
Remind me again of these moments when I’m struggling. They are moments that I will cherish and draw on for the rest of my life! They buoy me in times of doubt and add ‘verses to my songs’ of praise to You in times of joy.
