Unlikely and Used
Well now, you made it, friend! So, come on up on this here ol’ front porch like you just heard a screen door slam and caught the smell of fresh-baked cornbread floatin’ through the air. Pull up a chair and git yourself settled in for a lil’ spell. Let’s sit here and watch that lil’ turtle mosey across the yard like he’s got the confidence of an ol’ barn cat that thinks it owns the place. Life can make us feel a whole lot like that turtle. We inch along thinkin’ we have everything figured out until God shifts the ground from right under us, and suddenly we realize we’re about as ready for that life-shakin’ as an ol’ goat tryin’ to read a road map.
That’s why Jonah 2:1-2 and 9-10 settles over this moment like warm butter meltin’ on fresh-baked pound cake. Jonah cried out from inside a fish, and God heard him. And to deepen this Psalm 18:6 says, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple.” Friend, that there verse is like findin’ out God keeps His ear tuned to your whisper even when you are stuck in the strangest places.
Jonah’s turning point happened in the belly of a giant fish. Now, if that don’t sound like somethin’ out of a backwoods tall tale, I don’t know what does. Before Nineveh could change its heart, Jonah had to change his. He went from runnin’ from God to prayin’ from the land of the dead, and God answered him right there in the dark. Jonah 2:1-2 shows him cryin’ out. Jonah 2:9-10 shows him surrenderin’. And then God told that fish to spit Jonah out like a watermelon seed. Revival started with a man who didn’t even like the people he was sent to help.
That’s just like God. He uses the most unlikely folks in the most unlikely places. Psalm 18:6 reminds us, “He hears us from anywhere.” Jonah prayed from a fish. Daniel prayed from a lion’s den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prayed from a furnace. And God answered every single one of ‘em.
Friend, revival can start anywhere. It can start in deep waters, in dark places, in moments when you feel swallowed whole by life. No matter where you are, you can pray. God will hear. He will ignite the embers of your heart. He will show you the path He has prepared for you. He will use you in ways that make your story just as unlikely and just as compellin’ as Jonah’s.
Father, thank You for hearin’ me no matter where I am. Light Your fire in my heart. Renew me, redirect me, and use me for Your purpose. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Alright then, friend, as you march away from this porch and ramble back into your world today, keep this truth close like a shiny glass marble that you hope to keep in your special collection. God don’t ever wait for perfect conditions to work. He shows up in fish bellies, stormy seas, and places that plum smell worse than an ol’ hog barn in July. He hears you when you call. He lifts you when you sink. And He can turn your most unlikely moment into the beginning of somethin’ mighty special. So go on now. Let Him write your story, even if it starts in a place you never expected.
With joy,
Gwen
