Some stories are just hard to believe—crazy events and characters just too much to swallow. Like a storm so big even the boat is scared. Pagan sailors and kings, wicked cities, and even cattle who repent. Or a great fish who listens to God and obediently swallows and vomits up a man who lives to tell the tale. Plants the size of houses obey the Lord, and worms obediently eat them. Who could possibly believe all of that? But even more unfathomable? The God who commands the winds, waves, and worms forgives repentant sinners. He stands ready to forgive you. Now that’s hard to believe. Through Jonah, God teaches us about both our hearts and his own. We’re bent toward rebellion, but his heart is full of mercy. And in this true story, God prepares people to recognize Jesus. For just as Jonah spent three days in the fish, so too Jesus spent three days in the earth. Not for his sin though, for our own. Those who turn to him find only mercy now. Unrelenting mercy for undeserving sinners.