Vancouver has its share of whale sculptures. There is the pixel Orca by Douglas Coupland in front of the Convention Center. During the Christmas season English Bay features another orca frame named Luna, and the 8m long shape glitters with 4,000 LED lights. In front of the Aquarium in Stanley Park is Chief of the Undersea World, a large 5.5 meter tall bronze statue by the world famous artist Bill Reid. The Haida believe Skana to be chief of the world beneath the sea who from his great house has the power to raise the storms and calm the waters. This parallels the story of the Creator who called on a prophet named Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh of pending destruction. When Jonah hops a ship headed in the opposite direction, the Creator stops the journey with a storm that has seasoned sailors shaking in their boots. Jonah knows he’s the cause of the squall and concedes to being thrown overboard. The moment he lands in the water the waves weaken. However, the Creator has prepared a special creature unlike anything we know of today. This deepsea giant swallows Jonah whole and carries him undigested for 3 days. I expect it was dark, wet, stinky and highly uncomfortable but Jonah survives. What is swallowing you up these days? Work, study, medical treatment, demanding relationships? Can you relate to Jonah’s sea of misery? Perhaps this is an opportunity to praise the Keeping Creator for though you are damaged you are not destroyed. Perhaps there is a purpose in this painful season of bringing you closer to God. Perhaps the miracle you’re waiting for was prepared and waiting for you but you ran in the opposite direction. God is not rejecting you in the belly of the beast, He is keeping and protecting you from a worse fate. The whale may be Chief of the Sea but the Lord our God is Creator and King over all. Will you trust Him with your joys and sorrows, with both your obedient and rebellious nature? You can. He loves you and He will hold you fast and keep you through it all.
