JONAH 2:1-9 –Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” .
THEME OF THE DAY: THANKSGIVING FROM THE DEPTHS. The Old Testament book of Jonah is an amazing account. There are so many lessons to learn that are negative and positive. Here are two negative and then a positive one unfolding today’s nugget theme.
First, willful disobedience to God has consequences, and we don’t know how severe they might be. Do we think Jonah would have been so bold to disobey the Lord if he knew languishing in a belly’s fish was a result? I don’t think so. For us, let’s not play with any form of disobedience. We don’t know how far the chastening love of God will go to get us back on the path of obedience.
Another lesson is the simple foolishness of trying to run and hide from God. We watch a reluctant and disobedient sailor attempt to do the impossible – hide from God. Jonah would have been well-served if he had a “pocket version” of a portion from David’s Psalm – Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you (Psalm 139:7-12). The application we may make is toward obeying known commands. Be on guard against refusing what God commands us to do. It might be witnessing to a neighbor, reconciling a relationship, or denying a fleshly lust. Whatever it is, don’t “hide” from it. Such foolishness takes us to bad places.
Now the positive lesson from Jonah and it is a big one. Go back up to the scripture of the day and read the last verse. Where is Jonah? He is not on the safe shores of the beach. He is in the dreaded belly of a big fish. And what does he do? Give thanks. Yes, even in the worst of circumstances. Jonah is not the supreme example of an obedient and submissive servant, but here is a great example of obeying the command “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). What about us? It is rather easy to give thanks when circumstances are manageable and life fairly calm, but those are not the seasons validating our faith or testing our obedience. It is in “the belly of the fish” we find out what we really are before the Lord, and the giving of thanksgiving from the depths of difficulties is an affirmation of a healthy walk with the Lord.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to obey the command to ‘Give thanks in all things’ and that with a sincere heart.”
QUOTE: “We have so much to give thanks for, even in the dark times of life, and no reason not to in any time in life.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim