Back In the Right Direction
Think back to a time when you were young and knowingly did something wrong. You broke a rule and then tried to avoid the ensuing confrontation. What happened? How did your parents react to your disobedience? A good parent wouldn’t try to avoid you and allow you to continue breaking their rules without some consequence. Instead, a loving parent will seek you out, correct you, and encourage you to make right choices—following the rules they set. That’s a pattern of parenting that reflects the heart of God. Scripture tells us that God doesn’t want us to remain separated from him because of our wrong-doing. He wishes to be reconciled to us in a healthy relationship and to continue walking with him. Yes, Jesus provided the way for us to be restored to a right relationship with God, but when we sin, it hurts the relationship. We see in the book of Jonah that in those times, God will seek us out in compassion, bring us to repentance, and point us back in the right direction.
HUMILITY RATHER THAN PRIDE
In the story of Jonah, we see God pursue his runaway prophet with a mighty storm and a big fish. Jonah ran from God because he didn’t want to go to Nineveh to warn the city of God’s impending judgment. Jonah wanted the Ninevites to get what they deserved—punishment! But God wanted to give them an opportunity to cry out for mercy and turn from their sin. Jonah chapter 1 ends this way…
“Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.”
It’s impossible to imagine what it’s like to be in the belly of a whale like fish for three days. I can hardly imagine opening up a can of sardines, putting my nose in the can and taking a huge sniff! Pungent. Piercing. Overpowering. But I know this, God was able to get Jonah’s attention! And at some time in those three days, Jonah turned his heart to God. That's what Jonah chapter 2 is about. Jonah 2:1-2 says this…
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me.”
It took humility for Jonah to cry out to God from inside the whale. You wouldn’t think he had much pride left after being thrown into the treacherous sea by the ship's crew, nearly drowning, and then swallowed by a whale. But I’ve seen people dig into even greater self-sufficient pride when going through tough times. To Jonah’s credit, he saw his error. If he had remained bitter at God for allowing him to nearly drown and be swallowed by a whale, his stay in the sea lover’s hotel would likely have been even longer!
It’s important for Christ-followers to maintain a humble heart before God. If you don’t fear God (in a reverence and awe sense of fear), you’ll become proud and start trusting in your own abilities, will, and ways rather than placing your trust in God and his plans. Humility keeps the focus off yourself and on obeying Jesus. Pride keeps the focus on yourself. Humility places Jesus above all else in your life. Pride places your wants, needs, and desires above all else.
While inside the whale, Jonah wrung out his pride, realized his willful desire of disobeying God and running away from him. He was honest with himself and saw how he had tried to do things his way instead of God's way. It nearly caused him his life if not for God's mercy.
RETURN TO GOD WITH THANKSGIVING
We read in v. 9 that after turning from his rebellion against God (repentance), Jonah promised to “make good” on what he vowed...
“But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Why would joy, thanksgiving, and songs of praise be considered sacrifices to God? If you’re like me, there are times when you don’t feel joyful. You don’t feel like songs of praise to God. You feel there’s nothing to be grateful for. In those times, it’s a personal sacrifice to choose thanksgiving and joy over being sour and negative and doubtful. God wants us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When you don’t "feel" like it, that’s when it becomes a sacrifice of joy and thanksgiving.
If we could somehow channel the feelings of Jonah after he rebelled against God, nearly drowned and then sat in the belly of that whale, we would know the emotional and spiritual struggle he experienced. Perhaps, it wasn’t that different from times in your own life when circumstances in your life were stinking things up! But take note of this: Jonah didn’t know while inside the whale if God was going to rescue him or not, and yet he still decided to praise him. What was his reward? We read in v. 10…
“Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.”
Like people around you, God probably doesn’t enjoy being around discontent, whiny people who complain all the time and never seem satisfied. God is pleased and everyone around you is more excited and drawn to you when you make the sacrifice to be joyful and thankful in every circumstance.
GOD IS MERCIFUL TO THE HUMBLE
We learn from Jonah how our God of mercy works. Jonah says in vv. 2 and 7…
“…my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple…As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you...”
God hears your prayers. When Jonah recognized his error and his sin against God, he knew he deserved to be thrown into the raging sea and to be banished from God's sight. Because he repented of his sin and turned to God, God was able to forgive him and hear his prayer. Here’s what we learn. Our sin places a burden on our relationship with God. It hinders fellowship with a holy, pure, and just God. And yet, he still desires to hear from us and talk to us.
If you’re a parent and have suffered conflict with a rebellious child, you have an idea concerning a broken relationship. The love is still there, but, there's a wedge between you. It feels awful. And until your child admits he or she is wrong and is truly sorry and willing to change their behavior, the relationship will suffer. In the same way, if, in pride and self-righteousness, you declare that you have not sinned (when you have) and try to talk to God as if everything is great between you, then you don’t allow God to work and move in your life as he desires. But when you humble yourself and ask God to forgive you and free you from your sin, he’s quick to answer in his love and mercy.
GOD RESCUES YOU FROM SIN
In vv. 6-7 Jonah recalls his spiritual upheaval…
“I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord.”
Maybe this was rock bottom for Jonah, maybe not. But it surely was grim. It often takes dire circumstances to cause you and me to cry out for God's mercy and love. Why? Because it’s easy to blow off God when things are going really well in your life. Jonah nearly drowned and was on his way to certain death at the bottom of the sea before he realized he needed God. It was God’s discipline that taught Jonah a tough lesson: To disobey God is definitely not a smart idea or in your best interests! But God not only wants us to obey him always; he wants us to love him and seek after his heart. God wanted Jonah to have mercy and love for the Ninevites, even though they were wicked, just like God had mercy on Jonah when he rebelled. He wants to rescue you and me, but we must be humble and admit we need rescuing. Do you readily admit that?
If you really want to be free from the effect of sin and follow after God, cry out to him. He will hear you. God knows your heart. He knows when you hunger for him or when you still lust after worldly desires. God can tell if you want to be free and live a life pleasing to him. He knows if you’re merely paying lip service to him and going through the motions of being a Christian. Just be honest with yourself and God.
NEXT STEP
1. God wants to use you to further his kingdom here on the earth, but he can only use you if you humble yourself and let God shape your desires. Today, ask God to move in your life; to give you the strength to live as he called you to.
2. In those times when you’re down, cry out to God in your brokenness. Offer a sacrificial act of praise to God. Know that God will in some way “snatch you up from the jaws” of whatever is swallowing you. He will place your feet on solid ground, and restore fellowship with him. As you allow God to have his way in your life, you will change and have a greater desire to fulfill all your vows to God, and God will be pleased and glorified!
