In the Belly of a Whale...

In Psalm 54, as Saul was searching for David and he was hiding out with the Ziphites, David wrote these words:
1b Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength.2Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.3For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah4Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

We can ask ourselves, when we face trouble, who do we turn to?   Our self-reliant tendencies would attempt to dictate to us that we try to work things out for ourselves, and maybe offer up a cursory prayer if things get too tight or after we've exhausted our human options.  But, God wants us to walk in a different path, with an awareness that He is with us and that He is our deliverer.  If we are abiding in Him, as Jesus teaches, then we can know His presence and activate His strength, prepared to turn to Him at all times - in our deep troubles or even in simple decisions or challenges.

In the book of Jonah, we read his cry for deliverance in the 2nd chapter:

2And he said: "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.3For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.4Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.'
Later, he confesses:7"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.8"Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.9But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord."
Harrison Odjegba Okene is a Nigerian Christian sailor who was trapped for 3 days in the wreckage of a tugboat back in May.  The boat was carrying a 12-person crew when it capsized in the Atlantic off the coast of Nigeria.  Divers were sent to scene looking for the bodies.

According to a story in the Crossmap section of The Christian Post website, it was assumed that after two and a half days, everyone aboard had died.  However, shockingly, one man - Harrison Okene - was found alive. He was discovered in a tiny 4-ft air space.

He reportedly survived by breathing an ever-dwindling supply of oxygen in an air pocket, on only Coca-Cola and no food.

It is reported that Okene recited the Bible verses from the last psalm his wife had sent by text message: "Oh God, by your name, save me. ... The Lord sustains my life."  That seems to be excerpted from Psalm 54.

He told a Nigerian newspaper, "The rest of my life is not enough to thank God for this wonder, it is incredible."

The story of Okene's miraculous survival is unveiled by a video of his rescue in May. Having been posted for six months, the video has gone viral recently. The full video of the rescue captured by divers was released by DCN Diving after a request from The Associated Press.

Christianity Today likens Okene to a modern-day Jonah - like the Bible character, he was trapped underwater; unlike Jonah, he was trapped what was once a tugboat.   We're told in Scripture that Jonah prayed to God for deliverance from the belly of the fish - Okene trusted God for his deliverance, as well.

There are several takeaways for us in our walk with Christ.   For one thing, we recognize God as our deliverer.  Not only is He the one who has made a way out from the bondage of sin and death through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, but He desires for us to turn to Him and call upon Him, to trust Him in our struggles, even in the midst of our deepest despair.  

There's also an element of timing here.  Relief may not be immediate, and it wasn't for Jonah nor Harrison Okene.  But in the midst of hardship, when we may feel buried under the weight of difficulty, we can recognize that He will sustain us with His peace and presence.   He is our rock, our refuge, our source of strength, and as the Psalm reminds us, an ever-present help in time of trouble.

The verse texted to Okene by his wife gives us a reminder that the Lord sustains our lives.  We can acknowledge that our lives are in His hands, and He calls us to exercise utter dependence on Him.   And, that's a good word for us every day - to realize without Him we are nothing and can do nothing, and to decrease in our own strength and self-reliance and to increase in our knowledge and absolute trust in him.