Jonah and
Parkinson's Disease
Sometimes I am overwhelmed
with battle fatigue. Sometimes it seems that for every battle fought
and won, there are several new fights to be fought. Sometimes
winning consists of nothing more than still being standing when all
of the dust settles. And the question that I ask is, “Does it make
a difference? Am I wasting my time? Does my life make a difference
to those I know and love?”
I am not given to
depression, nor do I enjoy feeling sorry for myself (it sucks the
life out of me), but at the end of the day, I realize my clothes
are in tatters and the smell of the battle sticks to me like smoke
from a fire. These days, there doesn't seem to be a place of rest
to slip away to from the attackers and invaders that are the enemy's
best.
It reminds me of the story
of Jonah. This man was running from God and thought to hide in a
boat bound for another place. God was giving him a task that he
simply could not find the heart to do (like living with PD). So,
after he had boarded the boat, and they were on their way, a huge
storm came up. It was the worst the crew of the ship had ever
encountered. The ship was barely holding together, and being no help
at all, Jonah had actually fallen asleep down in the lowest parts of
the ship. The crew had thrown all of their cargo overboard to
lighten their load. This storm had cost them all that they had, and
it was still raging. Everything they tried only made things worse.
It struck me at this point
in the story that here I am, and here you are fighting a storm that
God has allowed in our lives.... For many of us, it is Hurricane
Parkinson. We don't want to fight this typhoon and as silly as it is
– we are running from it. And we are trying to outrun God by
staying ahead of Him. If it were up to us, there would be no storm,
and no loss of cargo. But He is as big as the whole sea and
impervious to our best efforts of choosing our own path.
When the crew found out
that Jonah was a Hebrew, they were terrified, knowing that he
worshiped and belonged to the One True God. So they asked him what
they must do to quiet the storm and save their lives. He told them
that they must throw him overboard – out into the storm. “So
they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea and the sea ceased
from its raging.” (Jonah 1:15)
In the same way, mankind
had been trying to hide from God since the Garden of Eden because of
his sin. The predicament we find ourselves in is that we are caught
in the storm of sin with only one way of making it through alive:
We had to throw Jesus like Jonah out into the raging sea, (upon the
cross) and only then would the sea become calm. Only His life thrown
into Hell's storm of man's sin – to pay for the sins of the world –
would calm this tempest.
“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. - (death held Jesus 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; yes, 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 around me forever. Yet
you have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my
strength 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.”
We live in a sin cursed
world at the present time, and we fight battles. But we live by
faith, believing that it has all been straightened out – that
Messiah has come and fulfilled His purpose (salvation has come
through Him), and though we do not see it now, all things will be
made perfect, and the corruptible will be done away with and the
incorruptable will established.
One of the present day
battles we fight is disease. We will live through this disease by
faith, knowing for sure that one day (very soon I think) healing
comes. Perfection will rule and all things will be subject to He who
paid the price and cancelled sin's effect.
Don't fall asleep, like
Jonah did on the boat. Look up for your redemption draweth nigh!
And know that Jesus has
already calmed the sea and defeated death. We will SEE this on the
appointed day! There will be no more disease. We will not just know
that this good day is coming, but we will see it.
