Three day fast of Nineveh – implication of Jonah’s journey in our day to day life.

Praise be to the Almighty God, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

These days we are observing the three day fast of Nineveh. It commemorates the three days that Prophet Jonah spent inside the fish. Let us have a close look into the book of Jonah and its implication on our lives.

Our Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. As Jonah had gone against the word of the Lord, He sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. In our life, God has a great purpose that we must fulfill. But ‘we’ determine what we want to be. “I want to be a doctor; I want to be this or that; I need those things in my life”. Yes, it is we who decide what we want to be. But do you think this is the right path? God has a plan for us. If we are deviating from the God’s plan, then, as usual, He will send a great wind, a storm to us. When we do not get what we wish or when we are upset because we want something and the opposite happens, we turn to God and cry;” Oh! God, why is this thing happened to me?” These are small, small storms, the every day storms from the Lord. Our Lord wants us to be aligned with His plans and not our plans. That is why we are getting every day troubles – to deviate from our path and to follow the path that God is showing us.

The sailors cast vote to find out who was responsible for the calamity and found that it was because of Jonah. They asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

This was his answer. He knew that the calamity was due to him and he knew the solution too so as to make the sea calm. He admitted that the great storm was because of him. This shows his confession. We also need to admit what we had done wrong; that is, moving away from our life. Some times we may lead a life far away from God. That is the time, when we deviates from the Lord. So, as Jonah had done, we need to admit that we had gone wrong and should confess.

Then the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. Since Jonah had moved away from the Lord, He gave Jonah three days and three nights to get purified. It is similar to a meditation, in silence, for three days and nights.
We are too much indulged in worldly pleasures and some times flee away from God. This is the time, the three day’s fast of Nineveh, help us to move away from the wrong things. Admit to God that you have gone wrong, against His plans. Refrain from what you like in these three days and meditate, in silence. God will transform you to become a great person and shape us to fulfill the purpose of our lives.

Pray for each other. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

-Rogen