8/20/2009

In the Belly of a Fish


Jonah is the name of one of my students this term. Every time I see him I am reminded of the big fish, the vessel that carried Jonah in the Bible to Nineveh, where the Lord was sending him.

Maybe because of Jonah, my student, I’ve been thinking a lot about Jonah, the Bible character, in the past few days.

There are ongoing debates whether the fish was a whale, a shark, or simply a big fish. I’ll leave that to scientists and theologians.

What makes Jonah a very fascinating character for me is his stay inside the belly of a big fish for three days and three nights.

The Bible tells us that while he was in there, Jonah was transformed. He did all the things Christians ought to do: he talked to God; he praised Him; he reflected on his condition; he realized his mistake; he asked for forgiveness for his stubbornness; and he finally obeyed his Master.

The fish then was his sanctuary, his haven, his prayer room, and the holy ground where God made his presence felt.

Here’s where I now draw a crude parallelism. I sort of feel like Jonah when I am in my workroom—a very small place not much bigger than the belly of a big fish. But here, when I write, the room’s smallness makes me feel like I am in a sanctuary, a haven, a prayer room, and a holy ground where God makes His presence felt.

When one is alone, shut off, and protected from the roaring and undulating ocean which is our world, we come face-to-face with ourselves; our aloneness makes our thoughts so much clearer and the rub-a-dub of our heart so much louder, making us keener to discover the grace that tells us where Nineveh is.

Do you have a place where you feel like you are in the belly of a fish? I know you do.

10 comments:

joanne said...

this post made me realize that my belly of a fish is the bathroom, and my Nineveh is right outside - the kitchen, the laundry room, the nursery - all of this house which I am called to make into a home. I do have Jonah moments where I want to run away (gulp), but when God meets me in the belly of the fish I am given the grace to go out and embrace my Nineveh.

Thanks for the beautiful parallelism.

Grace D. Chong said...

Dear Joanne,

This is wonderful! Thank you for your insight and for sharing it in my site.

MelB said...

Beautiful post Grace!

Grace D. Chong said...

Thanks Mel!

ggie said...

aloneness

Yay Padua-Olmedo said...

Beautiful, Grace! I do feel I'm in the belly a lot of times. But thank God for His grace to set me free in spite of my stubbornness.

Grace D. Chong said...

Yes, Ggie. Aloneness isn't a bad thing, really.

Grace D. Chong said...

Hi, Yay!

I have progressed from being utterly stubborn to less stubborn, but stubborn nevertheless. Still working on it, and by His grace, will get there.

tv reviews said...

Jonah is one of my favorite names

Grace D. Chong said...

TV Reviews: Now, it's one of mine, too. Thanks for dropping by.