Based on Jonah 1:10-2:10 (New King James Version)
“Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, ‘Why have you done this?’ For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, ‘What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?’—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. And he said to them, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.’ Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.’ So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And 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. For 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. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, o Lord, my God. ‘When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. ‘Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.’ So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.’”
One of the major problems that the majority of people have is whether or not God exists, and if what the Bible says about Him is true. Many, for example, believe that this story of Jonah and the great fish is like a children’s story, something fictitious. Many believe like a young woman once told me, that the Bible is only a book of metaphors. So then, does the God that the Bible talks about exist? And I would insist, “What makes more sense to believe, that God does not exist and that everything is only a cosmic accident, or that Almighty God truly exists and that it is better to believe in and follow Him while there is still time?” And also consider this, that there are two realities that are inevitable, whether you want to believe or not that there is a God: that there are greater things that are happening at every moment that we have no control over, and that our end will come at not such a distant future. This planet orbits around the sun without our permission, for example, and, no matter what man tries to do, whether they may be young or old, rich or poor, their day will come and there is nothing they can do to avoid it. Whether we want to believe in evolution or that Almighty God exists, we are less than nothing in the grand scheme of things, we are less than a thought at a given moment in the expansive reality of time and the universe. That is our reality and there is no one with some sort of intelligence that can say differently.
What I will affirm (because I do believe with all my being that God exists and that the Bible is His Word) is that at the very least, the Jesus that we read about did (and does) exist, the only begotten Son of God, not only because the Bible speaks of His existence and His actions, but also other historical texts written by people who were a part of the Roman Empire also speak of His existence, sources that had nothing to do with the Christian faith. For example, the writings of Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian speak of this Jesus, and even of how Pontius Pilate sent Him to be executed. And this is one of the many things that the Bible says about the Lord: “And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’” Mark 2:6-12. What can we deduce from this? That Jesus was (and is) God, and that He was able to affect both what is invisible to us at the moment (sin) as well as our material world, by healing the paralytic miraculously. So then, this God had power over the invisible and eternal as well as over the physical and temporary.
So, does God exist? Conclusively, this is a personal decision, but we also see throughout time that challenging this God that does exist only brings about problems. Whoever challenges God does not harm God, but rather, harms themselves. For example, this is what the Apostle Paul said: “At midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’” Acts 26:13-15. Whether you want to believe it or not, this is also what will happen to all who dare challenge the reality of the existence of Almighty God: “Then He began to tell the people this parable: ‘A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out. ‘Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.’ And when they heard it they said, ‘Certainly not!’ Then He looked at them and said, ‘What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Lucas 20:9-18.
And so, will you decide to believe in, honor, and love this Almighty Lord that loves you and offers you things no one and nothing else can give you, before it’s too late, or will you continue challenging Him until you are ground down like powder, that not even the memory of your existence will remain? Lord bless! John