Let's Go Back to the Bible

Jonah Didn’t Have Coca-Cola

Harrison Odjegba Okene is not a name you would know. On May 26, 2015, he was serving as a cook on a tugboat, the Jackson-4, off the coast of Nigeria. At 4:30 a.m. that morning, the tugboat overturned and sank 98 feet to the ocean floor. Harrison found himself trapped in an air pocket near the bow of the ship. His 11 other ship mates perished. Surviving on one bottle of Coke in the dark abyss, Harrison began reciting what Bible he had remembered from reading the night before. At the encouragement of his wife, he had read from Psalms, “Oh God, by your name, save me…The Lord sustains my life.” After 72 hours in the deep, he was rescued by divers who had come to recover the bodies. In a later interview, he stated that his salvation from that situation had come from the Lord.

There are a lot of differences between Jonah’s ordeal and what happened to Harrison Okene.  Jonah didn’t have Coca-Cola, Harrison was not in a creature prepared by God and the list could go on. What was interesting is that when they were in the deep they both turned to God. Listen to what Jonah had to say about his experience.  “So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head. I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness, But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD” (Jon. 2:2-9).

In their time of deep distress they turned to God. They both knew that their salvation from the most horrible situation they had ever faced would come from God. For Harrison, it was an accident that he ended up trapped at the bottom of the ocean. For Jonah, he had tried to run from God. His watery time out was God’s way of getting his attention. When the creature vomited him out onto the beach, God gave him the same command. The Bible tells us, “So Jonah arose and went” (Jon. 2:3).

Maybe you find yourself in a dark place right now due to unforeseen events. You may feel alone, but God is there. Cast all your cares on Him and there will be peace (1 Pet. 5:7; Phil. 4:6-7). You may be at the very bottom due to the consequences of sin, but God would have you to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). Before his ordeal, Harrison read, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You” (Psa. 56:3) and believed it.