Jonah 2: 7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. 8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. 10And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

How ironic a five year old told me this week he would like to be in the belly of a shark. I am not sure we are in a time that believes God would put someone in the belly of a big fish because they tried to hide from Him and His call.

“Matthew 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”

That is a strong warning about repentance ...I am a firm believer in the story of Jonah. Running away, trying to hide or ignoring God never works out. Denying the power of God is what Jonah did. Denying Jesus is not what we have made it in our generation. We do not have the details of why the people in Nineveh repented , all that matters was the outcome because they did. The outcome when we forget can be seen in Nahum.

“Nahum 1: 2 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. 4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
5 The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. 6 Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him. 7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. 8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue His enemies.”

This is what it looks like when they and we forget Who we pray to...Jonah forgot and we forget. Following God was never easy in this land of thorns and thistles...Do we think the wicked or His enemies are only those that chop off heads ,hand and feet as Nineveh had been doing. Do we understand His enemies can be someone sitting in church every Sunday where it is safe and comfortable ? Read Jonah again...
When think all that happen in Nahum is bad , then we do not understand His ways and they are only good ...

“Job 37:13 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. “