The Breaking

Jonah and the whale is very well known in history, personally I feel like this is one of the most told stories in history to the children in church and really in all of ancient literature. In case you have not heard of the story of Jonah and the whale let me recap it for you. The Lord presented Jonah with a task to go and preach salvation to the people of Nineveh for they were a very wicked city. Jonah arose but fled from the presence of the Lord, and disobeyed what the Lord asked of Jonah. Jonah then boards a ship and sets out to Tarshish. The Lord sends a great wind on the sea, so strong the mariners were afraid, calling upon their own gods, throwing cargo out into the sea to lighten the load. In the midst of this storm Jonah was asleep in the lowest parts of the ship, unbothered if you were to ask my opinion. When the captain came and raised Jonah he informed him to call upon the Lord and they had faith that Jonah’s God ( the Lord ) might spare their lives. Jonah admits to the crew he feared the Lord and requested they throw him overboard.. ( I was half tempted to discuss my opinion on how DRAMATIC Jonah was in this whole situation… I mean come on Jonah, you run from the presence of the Lord and to go  to Nineveh, but willingly offer to die by being thrown overboard… DRAMATIC. ) However, the merciful God we serve sent a fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah then spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of this great fish.. in his darkest moment Jonah cried out to God, repenting and receiving deliverance in what he described as ‘ hell ‘ ( Sheol. ) In Hebrew Sheol is  classified as hades or the world of the dead. Jonah’s cries were heard by the Lord and the Lord spoke to the fish and the fish spit Jonah out on dry land. The Lord tells Jonah again to go to the city of Nineveh and preach what I tell you. Jonah obeyed.. When this story is told it is taught how we should trust God and have faith that he will take care of us.. Yes, these things are wonderful to take and to learn from; but, can we talk about the breaking. The moment Jonah realizes how bad he messed up, Jonah shows humility and honor by informing the men it was him that was running from God, and he was willing to sacrifice his life for these men. This was the start of Jonah’s breaking point, Jonah had no clue that this fish would come to his rescue. If I place myself in Jonah’s shoes as he sits in the belly of this fish with seaweed wrapped around him and water sloshing him around, Jonah was to a stage where he had nothing, nothing but the Lord. The Lord used the belly of this fish to break Jonah. Jonah left with nothing, was broken in the belly of the fish and cried out to God and repented and began to be bold with God and informed God he will go and preached salvation. God can use our isolation to break us, but that isolation leads to a shielding of the Lord. When we are being  broken, if we  will  begin to focus and draw nearer to the father we will learn to be more intimate with him and to trust him to a new capacity. When God breaks us it is done so gracefully, in such a fragile environment. Now hear me out, it may not seem graceful and gentle to the carnal eye, but it is done with such an abundance of love. When your breaking happens it is not for you to mourn the breaking season, it is to prepare you to elevate. To be in unity with Abba.  To step into your calling. To be ready to sacrifice yourself fully. The pain in the breaking can be used as an opportunity to become intertwined with the Father and to be an image of him in every aspect. Take your eyes off of the destruction and place your eyes upon the Father and the future of where this breaking is going to be redemption. “And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭TPT‬‬.