Date: Tuesday, 26th August, 2025
Text: Jonah 1:1-17
Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan
Exhortation:
A man who neither regarded God nor worshipped him had an unforgettable experience that changed his life forever. Prior to that experience he lived his life as he pleased. He never cared to obey anything that God says. He just continued his life that way.
One day he was travelling on the high way on top speed as usual; then something tragic happened. There was a terrible accident and the vehicle somersaulted several times and violently threw him out in the process. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself in very dip abandoned pit located in a bushy area some meters from the highway.
He cried for help but nobody heard him. This was so because the location of the accident was far from where people lived and the pit was deep. His situation seemed hopeless and the man began to weep. He knew he might die in that pit if help didn’t come anytime soon but nobody was around to help.
However, this same man who never neither cared to fear nor worship God suddenly realized that God remained his last hope in that very situation. So he cried to God fervently just like Jonah did when he was swallowed by the whale- Jonah 2:1-10.
He prayed to God for mercy and made a vow to him that if God will rescue him from this horrible pit, he was going to obey and serve him for the rest of his life. When God saw that he meant what he said, his prayer was answered.
By divine arrangement, a hunter in that forest was roaming around that area hunting animals. He heard something strange – a sound like that of a human voice crying for help faintly. He tried to trace the location of the sound, moving closer and closer to it until he was able to locate the pit.
The hunter went and gathered able men from the neighboring village and the victim was eventually rescued from the deadly pit.
That encounter made him see the futility of life. His attitude towards God changed positively and he began to fulfill his vow of obedience to the will of God and service.
Reflective Nugget: Friend, don’t wait until God humbles you before you do his will.
Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 1-4