The Big Bad Wolf vs. Jonah

Here comes another true story from a Sunday school experience. My son was four years old. He had wonderful Sunday school teachers – Carol and Jimmy Handey – and he loved going to their class each week. Every Sunday, as we were fixing lunch, Matthew and I would talk about what he had learned in Sunday school. One Sunday, he said, “Today we learned about Jonah.” So, I prodded – “What did you learn about Jonah?” Here’s the story as told by a four-year-old: “Well, God wanted Jonah to do something, but Jonah didn’t want to, so he got in a boat and ran away. But when he got in the middle of the water, the Big Bad Wolf came. He huffed and he puffed and he blew him into the water and a big fish swallowed him! When Jonah got out of that fish, he did what God told him to.” Oh-kaaaay. And there you have the story of Jonah according to a pre-schooler.

So, you should know that I like Jonah a lot. It may just be that I identify with Jonah. More often than I would like to admit, my first response has been, “I don’t really like where this is heading and I think this would be a really good time to turn around and run the other way.” And, there are times when, like Jonah, it takes something pretty drastic to fully get my attention. I can be such a good listener when I don’t have any other choice.

Jonah’s life got disrupted in a major way. Yours probably has, too, at one time or another. Or maybe you’re like me and it happens a lot. Tonight is the first night of our Bible study – Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted. We will meet each Tuesday night for six more weeks in Room 139. If you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry. It is just the first session, so you aren’t behind. Join us next week and as often as you can. I’m thinking that we are going to learn that those interruptions in our lives might just be opportunities, but if you always see them as interruptions, you are going to miss the part that is the opportunity!

Maybe Matthew had it kind of right in his version of the story. The Big Bad Wolf is always going to be there – huffing and puffing away in your life, trying to blow your house down. Listen to God. Be obedient. Even when it is difficult and scary and makes you a little bit mad. Even when you get swallowed by a fish. See you at Bible study!


He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."   Psalm 91:1-2