Getting Stuck

Have you ever been stuck somewhere?  Really stuck?  I have.  Last year, I was in Washington, DC and had just checked in at the hotel.   I was attending a conference, and this was a nice hotel, just so you’ll know.  So, I got in the elevator with two other people and we pushed the buttons for our floors.   The elevator took off, just like it was supposed to do.  And then it stopped.  We had a problem.  It stopped, but not on anybody’s floor.  In fact, it stopped on nobody’s floor – we were between the third floor and the fourth floor.  And we weren’t going anywhere.  

There isn’t too much that’s funny about being stuck in an elevator, but this next part was.  Once the hotel employees realized there were actual people trapped inside that elevator, they started yelling at us and asking us if we were all right.  They wanted to know how many of us there were and a few other things.   And then, about every two or three minutes, they would holler, “Are you still there?”  What??  Are we still here?  Where do they think we went?  And they would follow that question with, “How many of you are in there?”  Um…still three of us. Nobody got out.  Nobody got in.  My Spidey-sense was telling me that I wasn’t going anywhere very soon with that bunch working on our problem.  And their attempts to reassure us were anything but reassuring.  Their eventual solution was not very elegant, but it was effective.  They pried the doors open, brought out a ladder, and we all climbed down.  

Now think about poor old rebellious runaway Jonah.  Sometimes I get so excited about Jonah getting rescued by that fish and not drowning that I forget something.  He is still inside of a fish.  He didn’t drown, but he isn’t exactly safe.  And I am thinking he certainly wasn’t where he would like to be.  A ride inside a fish still leaves you in a pretty bad fix.  So, Jonah is alive.  And he prays.  Now, I’m thinking that there was probably a lot of praying going on with Jonah.  I don’t see how you can get thrown overboard in the midst of a storm and not pray, even if you are being a rebel.  

Have you read Jonah’s prayer?  It is in the second chapter of Jonah - first nine verses.  Oh, boy.  It is one of the praying-est prayers you will ever read.  Jonah finally gets it!  He knows he is in a mess.  He knows he did it to himself.  He knows that he should have obeyed.  He knows where he went wrong.  He still does not love those Ninevites.  But, he is willing to do what God wants him to do.  Jonah gets it!!  God is the ONLY one who can save him.  (That goes for me and you, too, by the way.)  

Jonah finally gets out of that fish.  Getting out of that stuck elevator was a piece of cake, now that I compare it to Jonah’s getaway from the fish.  Vomit – yuck.  Fish vomit – yuckier.  Surely by now you realize that God has a sense of humor.  

We all have lessons that we learn the hard way.  At least, I do.  And, like Jonah, I have usually brought it on myself.  God never abandons us, though.  In fact, just like He did for Jonah, He patiently pursues us, protects us, and waits for us to turn to Him.  He is always there, waiting – even when we act like Jonah.  Someday you might hear God telling you, “Arise, go.”   It is a good idea to arise and go.  The view from inside a fish can’t be that good.

P.S.  I am writing this in the airport.  Guess where I am going.  Washington, DC.  A different hotel this time.  I asked for a low floor.

P.P.S.  Ladies of the Tuesday night Bible study - I miss y'all.  Wish I could be there!

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.  1 Peter 5:10