What are your thoughts on an animal’s ability to hear and obey God? We do have biblical proof of animals obeying their Creator, and Jonah’s big fish is a prime example. “Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah” (Jonah 1:17). The Lord also commands the fish to spit Jonah back out after three long days. I imagine the great fish feels relief when Jonah finally offers a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s saving grace. But while this prophet is thankful for his own salvation within the fish’s belly, his heart still isn’t in sync with God’s. We will soon see that a selfish view of grace can harden a heart to the Lord’s plan and foster anger where there should be love. It is interesting that at some point, the great fish is more obedient to God than Jonah is.
Would you like more examples of obedient animals moving God’s plans along? In Matthew 17, Jesus arranges for a fish to hold a coin in its mouth so Peter can catch that fish at a specific time. Take a dive into your Bible and find the place where a donkey speaks, a worm obeys God Almighty, and animals come to Noah. Lions, snakes, quail and bears have God stories, too. We know the Lord of the sea and the land can use anything He chooses to further His plan. So if the Lord will use a fish and a worm, won’t He also gladly use you and me? We can remember Jonah getting tangled up in the seaweed of selfishness and repent if it is around our head as well. May our Creator keep our hearts open to sharing grace and love so we can have God stories, too. ~Tracy