72 Hours

Cold. Damp. Rancid. Dark. With no way of escape. 72 hours of complete misery. Not your idea get away. Not a Paradise vacation. It felt more like prison. In essence it was prison. A soldier did not obey his commander and got exiled to this unusual prison.

Being in such a place gives you time to think. To ponder things. To reflect on where things went wrong. This soldier had time to rethink his direct violation of orders. He also had time to regret his disobedience and how he would respond the next time. The day finally came for his release. The soldier got afforded another chance.

You better believe when his next marching orders were given, ironically the same as the one he previously disobeyed, he complied.  He learned his lesson well and obeyed promptly. He may not have wanted to follow through on the order down deep inside but he executed those orders perfectly on the outside. Following through with something unpleasant sure felt better than prison.

So goes the story of Jonah. Imprisoned in the belly of a fish. He even mentions getting sea weed tangled around his head. The fish went to depth of the sea. Utter darkness. Cold. No way to escape. And surrounded by partially digested fish in acidic digestive juices. Miserable all the way around.

It worked though. God used that to get Jonah's attention. Jonah preferred death to obedience. God preferred chastisement and brokenness which led to a second chance.

I am thinking now of one of the worst choices of disobedience I've done. Such a horrid decision it impacted hundreds of people. God had to take me down into a prison to get my attention. That proved a very painful season. It also taught me some valuable lessons I am still living out today. God's chastisement, while painful, is also merciful and beneficial.

Jonah learned what he needed to in those 72 hours in the deep. 72 hours to be broken. 72 hours to repent. 72 hours to submit to God and His authority. 72 hours to remember former vows and resolve to pay those vows. It is amazing what God can do in 72 hours.

It took 72 hours for Jonah to determine obedience was better than rebellion. In 72 hours God conformed a stubborn defiant will to one of submission and compliance. LORD, if any of us need that then I ask You to do what You must to get hold of our hearts, minds and wills over the next 72 hours.