Bleachy

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

                           Mark 9:24

“BLAHHHHH!” he collapsed in a pile of vomit and the contents of full stomach. He lay there wondering how things had gotten so bad this fast.  

                                               

                                

He was one of the good guys, so why was he feeling like an antagonist? Things had changed around him. God was asking him to step outside of his comfort zone. Everything up to that point was no skin off his teeth. However this time he might be risking his skin just because God was putting him in an uncertain place.

“Okay, yes, doubt was building up inside,” He admitted. “Why would God put me in a place where I was uncomfortable? Isn’t the life of a believer supposed to be safe and secure?”

He bristled at the thought of even talking to the people God was sending him to preach to. Not only were they not like him, they were against everything he stood for.

“Why would God care about what happens to low life? Aren’t they the ones that are causing all the unrest and problems in the world? Why would I want to tell them about Heaven when they make Hell on Earth for the rest of us?” He grumbled.

Then, the incident happened. That was the two-by-four God had used to bring him to his senses.

“Running from God, not a good idea.” He managed to roll up to a sitting position. He hadn’t felt like a human for days. “Now I know what it’s like to live apart from God.” He squinted toward the sky. “You win.”

At first it was hard to walk. His body felt drained of all color as it were. As he moved the Lord renewed his strength. One foot in front of the other.

He walked up the first crowd of people he saw. Whatever conversation they were having zipped up the instant they saw him. He had their complete attention. When he told them what the Lord asked him to say, they fell on their knees begging for forgiveness. Simple as that? He wondered.  I was worried they would tar and feather me the moment I mentioned anything about G-O-D.

That’s how his whole trip went. People were getting right with God. Sinful, nasty, immoral, scum of the earth, people, in his book, were repenting of their ways. They became pale as ghosts and realized that their life was precariously out of balance.

It wasn’t until he looked in a reflection that he understood at least part of the puzzle. Those three days in the belly of a huge fish had bleached him out. Of course that burning in his body was spiritual as well as physical. The stomach acids had burned away his beard, hair, and skin color. He looked like a spirit or a ghost to these people.

It took him some time and a few more stubborn moments to get the irony of it all. He had to really die to himself before he understood the grace of God. Everyone was in the same boat, or in a fish infested sea. By God’s forgiveness anyone can have a new life, even those who think they have it all together. Yes, even the good guys need God, as the days get darker, to be good.

Jonah was pushed beyond what a good man should do. His actions where anticipated by God. He knew that being inside the fish would change him. It also was a sign to those who he would preach to. God knows how tough the days are especially for His people. The temptation to run from the big battles and decisions will always be there. Be assured that the Lord will have a path back even when our ways get a little fishy.