Matthew 12:39,40 But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The story of Jonah is one that is well known. Even people who do not espouse to any “religious beliefs” or “spirituality” have heard of the story of Jonah being three days and nights in the belly of a great fish. Jesus Himself believed the literal account of Jonah and the whale (or great fish). He said that it was a type of how He would be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth before He rose again (Matthew 12:40). Hallelujah! Jesus is risen, beloved. Truly, the good news of salvation is of The Lord and from The Lord.

But Jonah is a book that is packed with practical lessons for any person who is a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a book that teaches us that it is impossible to flee from the presence of God. It is a book that teaches us that our sin and rebellion against God affects others and sometimes puts others in danger. It’s a book that teaches how racial resentment can be so deep that it can blind us from heeding the commands to preach the gospel. It teaches us that God’s grace and the gift of repentance are extended to the most wicked of people. But above all things is the singular message that God is ultimately in sovereign control over whales and winds, gourds and people.