bottom of a well or belly of a whale

sometimes, it can feel like the whole world misunderstands us, right? maybe i am the only one who feels this way from time to time. but it certainly happens for me. sometimes, it’s the comments from a friend, sometimes it’s the harshness of the people around us, sometimes it just seems like God doesn’t care. does He?

when Jeremiah was in the well or Jonah was in the whale, things probably felt a little like this. you see, sometimes God seems to be far away. sometimes, He seems to have been asleep. sometimes, He seems to be watching TV. how can we reach Him in those minutes, hours, days? i dont think we can. we cant reach Him because He was never gone. He was there through it all. this seems hard to swallow, because that means that He was there and didnt do anything, right? it means He heard our cries as people took us to throw us in the well. it means He heard our calls for help as we were tossed overboard. and now we are stuck in the muck or the belly of a creature. we have hit the bottom. we think its His fault. why didnt He help?

what caused these men (and us) to be in this position? it was other people. you see, the world can be a pretty unkind thing. some of us are hurt so easily by everyone and everything. but those of us who are stronger, seem impervious for a while, only to find someone close to us betray us or let us down.

when Yeshua was in His hometown, he was rejected. when He was arrested, one of His closest companion betrayed him and another one denied knowing Him and all of his closest friends forsook Him in His time of need. Yes, Yeshua can relate. He can relate because He, like Jonah, has been in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights. He has been there. He knows how we feel. let us remember this. let us seek Him in our time of rejection and find solace.

let us remember what a man of God said from the belly of a whale:

I called out to YHWH, out of distress and He answered me;
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried out, and You heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
And the flood surrounded me;
All your waves and your billows passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away from Your sight;
Yet I shall again look upon Your Holy Temple.’
The waters closed over me to take my life;
The deep surrounded me;
Weeds were wrapped about my head at the root of the mountains.
I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever;
Yet You brought up my life from the pit; O YHWH my God.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the YHWH,
And my prayer came to You, into Your Holy Temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
But I with voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You;
What I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to YHWH!!!!