Things To Do In The Belly Of A Whale: Soften Up

Jonah emerged from the whale with a hard heart.

He was unhappy about an entire city receiving the grace of God because he wanted them to be destroyed.

Jonah turned his anger towards God. He threw a temper tantrum and said he wanted to die.

Not exactly a soft heart.

In life, we all experience pain, rejection, disappointment, failure, setback, and difficulty.

When we find ourselves in the belly of a whale—in an uncomfortable place—we must allow it to soften us up, not toughen us up.

In my 8+ years of working in an animal hospital, I saw lots of dogs who’d been mistreated and hurt.

Basically, these dogs fell into one of two categories:

1. Skittish.

2. Aggressive.

The skittish dogs could seem almost normal at times—but then would snap because something had set them off. My story of being bit in the face by an Australian Sheepdog is a perfect illustration of a skittish dog snapping. He wasn’t aggressive or evil. He got scared, and snapped. Literally. He snapped at my face with his teeth and left a hole in my cheek (which is why I drop-kicked him like a football).

We saw plenty of aggressive dogs too. Some had been beaten in order to turn them into vicious fighting dogs. And they were scary.

The pain these dogs experienced had toughened them up.

Unfortunately, their skittish or aggressive nature didn’t just make life difficult for people around them…

It actually ruined their own lives.

That’s right.

They couldn’t get adopted.

They would eventually be dropped off at an animal shelter.

They would be among the first to be euthanized.

Their toughness ruined their own lives.

This doesn’t just happen to dogs.

It’s true with people too.

Our toughness has the potential to ruin our own lives…

Which is why—when we’re in an uncomfortable place and things aren’t going our way—we need to soften up, not toughen up.

The Bible doesn’t encourage us to get tough, callous, or hard when experiencing pain.

Instead, it says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds”. (James 1.2 NIV)

Remember, when you’re in the belly of a whale, consider it an opportunity to soften up.