What Does It Mean?
The Moment Before
It all started when I attended church to hear my best friend sing. DISCLAIMER: This blog is by no means a Religion-Based Blog but goes to show you sometimes if you put yourself in different positions you might learn something. As I sat down I told another friend that "we will go to see our friends perform in any venue!" What I didn't expect was to be enlightened by a simple bible story. I didn't attend church growing up but after I began college I started going as a roommate outing and because I was curious. I attend a church in Orlando near UCF that has the most amazing Christian rock band (yeah you heard me - ROCK) and includes my previously mentioned BFF as one of their vocalists. As I sat there that day the pastor started to tell us the story of Jonah (Click here to read bible story) and the pastor proceeded to create connections between what Jonah did and how our world is today.
The Summary By Rachel Butler
"Instead of going to Nineveh as God had asked him to do, Jonah instead fled by boat to the city of Tarshish. God then created a storm that threatened to shipwreck the boat. After seeing the damage he was causing, Jonah told the sailors that he had lied to God and he asked them to throw him over. Reluctantly, the sailors did as they were asked and Jonah was eaten by a whale. At that moment, the storm calmed and the sailors began to worship the Lord."
-Summarized by Rachel Butler from Jonah 1-4 ESV
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Bobby Brooks, a pastor at Vessel in Orlando, FL, pointed out that Jonah could have just jumped overboard in secret instead of telling the sailors he was at fault for the storm. However, because he did admit his mistakes they started praising God and became believers. Bobby also reminded everyone that we do this in our own lives, especially on social media - we don't want people to see the negative so we continuously highlight the best things - but this doesn't help us or others. When people see the negative (Similar to Jonah telling the sailors it was his fault) and how we not only handle it but also learn from it, it can really help them in their own lives.
How it Shook ME
I sat there and realized I wanted to be more like Jonah. I have been so convinced that I should pretend like my life is perfect and going amazing when really its actually very hard at the moment. I decided then that I would use my trial and errors to help future performers- or just people in general. I have always loved being apart of a team; So Join my team and come inside The Belly Of A Fish!