3 Days

Why Happiness Sometimes Smells Fishy

I see that raised eyebrow! When we try to come up with happy people in the Bible, Jonah isn’t exactly at the top of that list, right? When we last hear from Jonah, he is sulking outside of Nineveh! Stay with me here for a minute.

Ambergris. Do you know what that is? It’s whale vomit. And it is one of the rarest, most valuable substances on the planet. Perfumers use it to stabilize perfumes. While it does have a pretty nasty odor while fresh, as it ages, it takes on a sweet, earthy scent.¹

Jonah was literally whale vomit. Of course, at first he wasn’t. Think we know which of the fight or flight column he lands in when it comes to facing fear or adversity. He ran from God by boat straight into stormy seas. Then, went overboard, nearly drowned, & was swallowed up by a big fish. And if that wasn’t enough, he spent three days & three nights there. There was nowhere for him to go until God decided to deliver him. In Jonah 2: 2-10, Jonah prayed & then God delivered him - as whale vomit - upon…