A Fish Called Grace

"Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you...He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you." Isaiah 30:18-19.

This morning as I was watching a video with Priscilla Shirer, author of the Bible study Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted I was blessed to reconsider what part the fish played in Jonah’s circumstances. Jonah was running from the call of God and chartered a ship to take him far away from the destination God had for him. His very presence on the ship created such a raging storm for his shipmates that eventually they threw him overboard so the storm would stop. As Jonah descended into the deep, he was swallowed by a large fish where he sat among the disgusting contents of things previously digested…what a mess in which he found himself. At first glance we are tempted to see the fish as Jonah’s consequences for his rebellion. But the video suggests otherwise; the video suggests that the fish was a preservation mechanism for repentance - ‘a fish called grace.’ Priscilla Shirer.

How compassionate is our God to give us protection when we have sinned against Him? How forgiving is God to take our circumstances that we have brought on ourselves and provide a way out when we don’t deserve it? Every single one of us at some point in our lives have made a huge mess requiring us to sit in the belly of our circumstances and look to God for mercy and forgiveness. God will use whatever messes we have made to show us what is inside that needs to be shaken out. ‘The shaking God allows in our lives affords us the opportunity to see what is hiding in our heart. The interruptions are to get out of us what is in us and to put in us what God knows we are missing.’ Priscilla Shirer, Jonah – Session 3.

When we find ourselves sitting in the belly of our messes it is an invitation to call to God, who sits on His throne just waiting and longing to hear from us. He isn’t withholding the answer, rather waiting to be invited into the question? While we long for God to remove us from our troubles, He longs for us to take some responsibility and seek repentance. As we wait on God to answer, He waits on us to ask for His forgiveness. I’m so thankful that He surrounds us with His protection until we humble ourselves and cry out to Him. ‘God isn’t out to hurt us; He’s out to redeem us.’ Priscilla Shirer