Man eaten by whale
Did you hear of the lobster diver who was swallowed by a humpback whale last Friday morning?
Michael Packard, 56, from Massachusetts, USA was diving off Cape Cod, first thought he had been attacked by a shark, but soon noticed he did not feel any teeth!
Mr Packard said, “All of a sudden, I felt this huge shove, and the next thing I knew it was completely black. Then I realised, oh my, I'm in a whale's mouth, and he's trying to swallow me, this is it, I'm gonna die.”
He was inside the humpback whale's mouth for about 30 seconds but was still able to breathe using his equipment.
He went on to say, “All of a sudden he went up to the surface and just erupted and started shaking his head. I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water. I was free and I just floated there. I can't believe I'm here to tell it.”
His friends now call him Jonah! What an amazing story, which, reminded me of the Biblical story about the Jonah Mr Packard has been named after!
God asked this Jonah to go to a pagan city, called Nineveh, and to tell them all about God. Jonah refused, and caught a boat going the other way. In a storm, he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a large fish. Whilst inside the watery beast he prayed...
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’”
In other words, in that moment of darkness and despair, Jonah turned to God for help! God heard his prayer and ‘saved’ him from death.
The story goes on to say that Jonah did then do what God had asked of him, and the people of Nineveh turned to God, which was fantastic news!
I am sure that Michael Packard is very grateful to be alive and that his near-death experience will have changed him – just like Jonah in the Bible!
Dramatic moments in life often cause people to take stock of priorities, meaning and purpose, along with a new sense of gratitude just to be alive!
I really hope you don’t get swallowed by a whale or go through a big trauma! However, why not take a moment to reflect about Michael ‘Jonah’ Packard’s ordeal. Look at your own life and consider what are your priorities, meaning and purpose. And be grateful to God, that you have a life to live...
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Stay safe & God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader