December 20th: Swallowed Whole

Jonah 1:11-17

11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”

12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”

15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

17 [a]Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

What do you have to do to be swallowed by a big fish?  You run from God.  Jonah did not want to go to the miserable, lawless city of Ninevah and tell the sinful, wild and unashamed people there that God was angry with them and they had better ask for forgiveness.  He thought that would be a pretty unpopular message to bring to a not-so-friendly place.  He didn’t want to be around those people, much less preach to them, so he went the opposite way. He said “no way” to Ninevah and ran from what God had called him to do. So he was swallowed by a great big fish and you will be to if you don’t listen to God.

Actually, you probably won’t be swallowed by a whale or a ginormous fish but you can expect for your peace to be swallowed up.  We cannot have true peace unless it is through God, and we can’t expect to receive God’s peace if we are running from Him.  But just like Moses and Jonah, we cannot outrun God’s love.  It finds us and reminds us that we are God’s child and God has called us to do great things for him.  And no, they will not always be the most popular things, but God wants us to be successful when we go in the name of Jesus, so just like he did with Jonah and prepared the people’s hearts to repent when they heard God’s message for Ninevah, God will prepare the hearts of the people you are called to share with as well.

Don’t be afraid. God is with you. He will rescue you as you carry his message of salvation and rescue to others.  Oh, and whatever you do…don’t run!

Discussion Questions:

1. What did God have to teach the sailors on the ship with Jonah about God’s power?

2. What is a place that you wouldn’t want to be called to carry God’s message?

3. Have you ever gotten that funny feeling that God wanted you to do something and you didn’t want to do it?  What did you do?

Family Activity: Color the ornament for day 19 (the fish).  Write down a person that God is calling you to love and share his rescue with.  Starting tonight, pray for that person every night until Christmas and write down how you think God might use you to share his salvation with them.

Prayer for the World: Pray for Pastor Taylor.  He is familiar with evangelism and church planting methods that encourage rapid Kingdom expansion.  Pray that he’ll be so distressed by the poor rate of Kingdom growth in his province that he’ll jettison methods and concepts that will never produce a harvest that’s consistent with the Father’s heart.  (Acts. 1:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:1)