Lobster diver Michael Packard has become a modern-day Jonah after a whale swallowed him whole. He survived the harrowing ordeal and now he's sharing the incredible story!
56-year-old Michael Packard is a veteran lobster diver. His job is to collect lobsters off the ocean floor. Meanwhile, his work partner watches from the boat, monitoring his safety.
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One day, both gentlemen got the surprise of a lifetime when Michael became a modern-day Jonah. And it's an unfathomable experience they won't ever forget!
As Michael Packard hunted for lobsters 45 feet below the surface off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, something unbelievable happened.
"All of a sudden, I just felt this huge bump, and everything went dark," he said. "And I could sense that I was moving. And I was like ... did I just get bit by a shark?"
As it turns out, a humpback whale had swallowed him whole!
"I was completely inside," Michael explained.
Thankfully, Michael wasn't in the whale's mouth for very long. The huge beast eventually spat the modern-day Jonah back out. But that didn't diminish the true sense of terror the lobster diver felt at becoming fish food.
"I thought to myself, 'Okay, this is it. ... I'm going to die.'"
Michael thought about his family, including his two boys, aged 15 and 12. And he realized there was nothing he could do to escape. He had no choice but to leave the outcome up to God.
"It was happening so fast. My only thought was, how to get out of that mouth? And I realized there was no overcoming a beast of that size. He was going to do with me what he wanted to do," Michael said.
While inside, Michael Packard tried fighting the whale, which began "throwing his head side to side." But eventually, the lobster diver saw light.
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"All of a sudden, he went up to the surface, and just erupted and started shaking his head," he recalled. "And I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water."
Michael couldn't believe it. Just like in the Bible, this modern-day Jonah was swallowed by a whale and lived to tell the tale!
The lobster diver simply floated in the ocean, reveling in the amazement of what just took place, until his partner rescued him. Michael then went to the hospital. He was pretty bruised up after the ordeal, but grateful to be alive.
And, of course, the incredible story of this modern-day Jonah spread like wildfire online.
Jonah: "See...I told you guys it is possible."https://t.co/bwY2hmPpny
— Matt Capps (@MattCapps) June 12, 2021
What a powerful reminder that God's Word is timeless!
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"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, 'I cried by reason of my affliction to the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardst my voice.'" Jonah 2:1-2
h/t: Christian Headlines
Featured Image Credit: Youtube/CBS Boston | Mike Doherty/Unsplash
Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!