From the belly of the whale

Jonah 1:16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

As much as we do not want to admit it, and as much as we may want to avoid it, there are times when God takes drastic measures in order to show His glory to people, especially unbelievers and wayward Christians.  Jonah is a case in point.  He was a prophet who was trying to avoid obedience.  God had to use drastic measures to obtain his willing obedience but in the meantime, along the way to his submission to God’s will, Jonah’s situation brought a revelation of God’s power and authority to the sailors on the ship who needed to know God as something other than just one god among many.  I want to be quicker to obey and easier for God to use, but if there is a time when I am not, God will be ready to do what He needs to in order to get me ready to obey and serve.  If that ever has to happen, my prayer is that my response to the adverse circumstances He allows will be like Jonah’s as seen in his prayer from the belly of the great fish: “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” (2:7, ESV)