Finding Your Nemo

Deep Sea Monster

"I see a light. It's so pretty. I want to touch it." – Dory

The light at the end of the tunnel is actually a train...

After the massive explosion caused by the commotion where Bruce tried to eat Marlin and Dory we saw that the green mask falls into a deep, dark hole in the ocean floor. If Marlin wanted to ever find Nemo he had to face the darkness and give chase after the sinking mask. As he and Dory swam deeper into the hole it became darker and darker, up to a point where they could no longer see each other. But then Dory saw a light! Both of them were relieved because they thought that are finally getting somewhere where there is light again. But it turned out be an anglerfish that tried to lure them into his mouth so that he can eat them. Anglerfish prey on distressed fish that is trying to get out of the overwhelming darkness they find themselves in. They seem like the light at the end of the tunnel but is in actual fact a speeding train in the tunnel, ready to run you over.

The world is full of such people, people who has an apparent solution to your problem but their agenda is never to help you but to only satisfy their own needs and desires. They prey on your weaknesses and fears. They get your hopes up and then pull the rug from underneath your feet. The deep sea monster Marlin and Dory encountered on their journey had no real purpose on their quest to find Nemo. This encounter was as a result of the actions of Bruce. When we meet such people we should be weary and cautious to not share even the tiniest detail of our journey and dreams with them because if you do you will get pulled to the light and might end up getting eaten. The safest course of action is to get out of their company and reach as soon as possible. When you have made your break then do not ever go back to them because there is nothing their company can offer you, except darkness, destruction and heartache.

You have the potential to use this to your advantage

Marlin and Dory lost the mask after the explosion. They saw the mask fall into the deep, dark hole. They saw a light in the darkness and they encountered an anglerfish that uses the light at the end of its antenna to attract its prey. Marlin improvised and used the anglerfish's light to shed light on the mask so that Dory can read what was written on it.

When we find ourselves trapped in situations or amongst people whose only goal is to destroy us we have the choice to either give in and let them devour and destroy us or we can fight back and use the "light" they dangled in front of us to shed some light on our situation so as to get us back on track. We must choose to see the light and not the teeth, we should focus on the positives and avoid thinking about and pondering on the negatives. Even more important, we should not focus on hatred towards those that caused us to be where we are at. When we are consumed with feelings of hatred towards them then we cannot focus all of our attention on turning the situation around to be to our benefit. God promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, even if we are in what feels to be a dark and never ending hole with sea monsters!

Jonah – The cause of your unexplainable storms

Scripture: Jonah 1

Jonah was a reluctant prophet of God. God wanted him to go to the city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Jonah had to go the Nineveh to preach to the people so that they can repent and turn from their wicked ways. The reason for Jonah's reluctance to go was due to the fact that the Hebrews and Assyrians were enemies at the time and Jonah would rather see them being punished by God than have them experience and taste the mercy of God. Jonah disobeyed a direct order from God and chose to follow his own ways.

Instead of heading to Nineveh he got on a boat headed for Tarshish. Jonah seemed like a regular traveller, he paid his fare for the trip and climbed aboard. But God sent a great wind to stir up a mighty storm on the ocean. The storm was severe and the sailors had to throw off some of the cargo in order to make the boat lighter so as to prevent it from sinking. All the sailors cried to their own gods in an attempt to have the storm calm down. They tried to sail and row to land but all of their efforts were unsuccessful. The captain of the boat had gone below deck, to where Jonah was sleeping through the storm. The captain woke him up and instructed him to call to his God in the hope that Jonah's God would be able to calm the storm. The sailors wanted to know who caused the storm and decided to cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

Jonah told the sailors and the captain what he had done and they became terrified. Jonah knew what had to be done and he instructed them to throw him overboard so that the storm would calm down and their lives be saved. The longer the sailors waited before throwing Jonah overboard the greater the storm grew. The sailors knew that if they throw Jonah overboard in those conditions that he would surely perish and they therefore prayed to God and asked His mercy and forgiveness as they do not want to kill Jonah. After praying the sailors and the captain threw Jonah overboard and the storm immediately grew calm. This made the sailors fear God and they made sacrifices to God and made vows to him. God had sent a great fish to swallow Jonah and save him from drowning in the terrible storm.

Lesson from the story of Jonah

Identify the Jonah in your boat

We all have someone in our boat who should not be there. Someone who continuously stir up storms and who makes life difficult. These people have no purpose in your life but they surely have the potential to lead to great distress, loss and disaster. Just like the sailors threw lots in order to identify the culprit on their boat so too do you have the responsibility to identify who is stirring up storms in your life. You need to ask yourself if all the people in your life, personal and professional, will make a valuable contribution to your journey to find your Nemo. You need to be honest and appraise the character of everyone and determine who will wake up and face the storm with you and who will sleep peacefully below deck. You cannot afford to have any Jonah's on your boat as you are on a clear path to finding your Nemo and any storms and gale-force winds has the potential to set you of course, thereby delaying your journey.

Do not delay, throw him off

Therefore you should not wait and delay. If you have identified the Jonah on your boat then throw him off. There is nothing else you can do; you can row harder and even pray harder but the only solution is to throw Jonah overboard. The longer you keep him on your boat the more damage you will have as you will need to keep on throwing your possessions overboard to prevent your boat from sinking and the further off course your boat will veer. It might be a difficult thing to do but you need to do it!

There is no need to feel guilty

God has a plan, He will not let your Jonah drown. He will use this situation to bring about a radical change in the life of your Jonah and also help him to reach his destination. You do not need to feel guilty about it and you do not need to repent. Our own will and notions of doing good has the potential to come in the way of God's work. Take a step back, throw Jonah overboard and see how your storms calm down.

Who is your Deep Sea Monster?

Complete this table and identify what role each of these individuals are playing in your quest to find your Nemo.

Insight gained

How can I get out of it/Use it to my advantage

Trouble/Pain caused

Name