Jonah
chapter 2 reminds me of those times in life when we are completely
overwhelmed by circumstances that seem out of our control. We know
that we had a part in the cause, but now we are so entangled that we
do not see a way out. Some call it hopelessness, others call it
depression. We do not know whether to give up, give in or give out.
This is the place where Jonah found himself in today’s chapter. It
begins, “From inside the fish
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God“.
But listen to Jonah’s words, “In
my distress I called… and He answered me“.
This is not a “bad day at work” kind of stress; this is unable
to breathe fear. Jonah
continues, “in
the realm of the dead I called… and You listened to my cry“.
Some might understand his state, “waves
and breakers swept over me… engulfing waters… the deep surrounded
me; seaweed
was wrapped around my head“.
In desperation some turn to medication, or self-medicate in an
attempt to escape. Jonah says, “When
my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, Lord, and my prayer rose
to You“. Notice that Jonah’s
prayer is not recorded. Sometimes the words we use are less
important than to Whom we call.
I
grew up learning a very few prayers. In my private times of personal
prayer, I sometimes do not have words to describe the needs. Romans
8:27 taught me that God knows the words and even interprets our
utterance, “We do not know what
we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us
through wordless groans.
And
He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the
Spirit intercedes for God’s people“.
Is it time to groan to God?
The
chapter closes with words I believe Jonah penned after the ordeal.
He is a changed man, no longer running from God. He identifies the
problem of the people that he refused to help, “Those
who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for
them“. People will cling to
anything to keep from sinking, no matter how miserable it makes them.
Listen to the man that has received a new life, “But
I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to You“.
From personal experience Jonah can say, “Salvation
comes from the Lord“. The
last verse describes the messy transformation process, “And
the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land“.
The thing Jonah thought was his big problem became his delivery. Is
it possible that the whale of a problem you have now is designed to
bring you to a place of grateful praise? Here is a promise that is
repeated in both the Old and New Testament, “The
Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake
you“. God has not forgotten
you, is it time that you remember God?