From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. Jonah prayed:
“I called to the Lord in my distress,
and he answered me.
From the depths of my watery grave I cried for help,
and you heard my cry. . . .
I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving.
I will keep my vow.”
Jonah 2:1–2, 9
G od provided a giant fish for Jonah as protection from a watery grave. That cold, stinky, wet fish wouldn’t have been a nice place. Jonah would have been terrified, sure he was going to die. But being a prophet, Jonah knew something about God. And after the initial shock wore off and he took a look at the situation, he did the most important thing he could do: he thanked God. Yep, he thanked God from inside his fishy prison.
Thanking God in the midst of your stinky fish and suffering will save you a lot of pain. Nothing happens to you that God cannot and will not use for your good (see Rom. 8:28). When you believe that and trust him, you will be free to live without fear or worry. You’ll be free to rest in a peace that goes beyond anything that you can imagine (see Phil. 4:7). No storm, no trial, no destruction can get to you unless God puts it there to rescue you from your choices.
In the belly of the fish Jonah had something to learn. And he wasn’t set free until he learned it. If you’re trapped and want to get free, you have to learn what God wants you to learn. What lesson are you refusing to get? What work won’t you do? Decide to just do it and then thank him. Pray to him and offer him your life, your will, and your praise. Then you will see things start to happen. If God can save a despicable city like Nineveh (see Jonah 3), he can save you. Just accept his rebuke and his forgiveness and move on to the blessing he wants to give you.