How did a disobedient person change into an obedient person?

When the word of God came to Jonah a second time,

he obeyed and went to Nineveh,

a very large city that took three days to walk through. He proclaimed,

'In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown' (Jonah 3:1-4).

As I reflected on this passage, I focused on the fact that Jonah,

who had previously disobeyed when the word of God first came to him,

chose to obey when the word came a second time.

How did this servant of the Lord, who had been disobedient,

transform into someone who followed God's word so faithfully?

The transformation of Jonah from a disobedient servant in chapter 1

to an obedient one in chapter 3 is attributed to his cries to God

in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights (1:17)

while he was in distress (2:1-2).

Even in the depths of the sea,

he turned his gaze toward the Lord's temple (vv. 3-4)

and earnestly sought the Lord's help.

When he called out, the Lord heard his voice (2:2)

and saved his life from death (6:6).

In short, Jonah's change from disobedience to obedience came

because he realized, acknowledged, and confessed

that 'salvation comes from the Lord' while he was in the land of the dead (6:6)

or in a place like a grave (2:2), experiencing God's salvation (vv. 9-10).