This IS NOT just about the guy who got swallowed.

Jonah...this big 'ol prophet from Israel. God tells him one day to go preach to the city of Ninevah. {Ninevah=the capital of Assyria, the biggest and baddest nation that was Israel's enemy.}

Jonah thinks to himself "heck no" and runs away from God.

How many times have we been so scared and just ran away from God?

So he catches a boat to Tarshish...the farthest place a guy can go from Ninevah. And God sends a hugeee storm. All the shipmates are Assyrians, praying to idols and such. And here's Jonah...A STINKIN PROPHET, who falls into a deep sleep. Now what the heck was he thinking? He's got a whole boat full of people he could be witnessing to...and he's sleeping.

Good job, Jonah. Good.

So the captain of the ship runs to Jonah's room and is like "Listen-all of us are praying to our gods and it's not working. Get up and call on yours, maybe He'll spare us!"

Long story short, all the shipmates draw straws to see who's fault it is for this storm...

So Jonah gets called out. He tells them to throw him overboard and promises that the storm will then stop. Well it does, and the whole crew praises God.

Well...Jonah get's swallowed. He sits in the fish's stomach for three days and finally Jonah cries out to God.

Don't we do the same thing? We're sitting in the mess we've made for ourselves and like little babies we yell for our Father. And, since God is SO faithful, He helps us wherever we are, no matter what we've done. Jonah RAN from God and got stuck in a fish belly...but the Lord redeemed Jonah and ordered the fish to spit him up! God will do the same for US.

Jonah goes on and preaches to Ninevah and warns them that God is going to ruin their land if they don't shape up. And what do ya know-these wicked and sinful Ninevites change their ways and God changed His mind about punishing them.

Well Jonah is pissed. He doesn't understand why God would redeem these sinful Ninevite creeps. So Jonah leaves sets up camp...God grows a small vine to cover Jonah's head from the sun. But overnight, God sends a worm that eats the vine.
And you can assume the rest of the story...Jonah wakes up and starts whining about the vine.

So what can we get from this commonly overlooked story?
God. Is. Faithful.
No matter how many times Jonah was a nincompoop, God was always waiting for him to return on the right path. And whatever mess we get ourselves into, He is ready to help whenever you call it quits. He's our Father. He loves you.