Jonah 2 "From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’” And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land."
I don't know about you, but when I look read the Word of God... sometimes God surprises me with something I've never seen before. Like today.
When I pulled up verses on offering sacrifices of praise, this whole chapter of Jonah stood out like a billboard to me. Talk about being between a rock and a hard spot (i.e., God being the Rock and the whale being the hard spot).
Now, can you imagine running from God (well, ok - for some of us it might be pretty easy to imagine that), but you get on a boat and all these bad things happening with the boat, the crew, etc. Now, you know that there's been a tad bit of disobedience on your part - not doing what the Lord had wanted you to do. Therefore, little by little you're getting the picture that what's happening to this 'innocent' crew is your fault. So, with either great faith that God is going to save you or if He doesn't save you you'll die by the hand of God, you tell the crew that the only way that they can save themselves is to throw you overboard. The crew didn't want to do that, but eventually saw they had no choice if they were to live. So into the drink, Jonah goes.
It's just my opinion, but I think the Lord let Him tread water for a while wondering why he didn't listen to the Lord in the first place. Then again, maybe the Lord was allowing him to get a few last breaths of fresh air... Imagine the fear that rose up in his throat when he realized he was just about to become dinner for a huge whale!
I noticed something though, what do the very first few words say? "FROM INSIDE THE FISH..." Jonah thanked and praised God in the face of death. Jonah had turned away from God, he was thrown into the ocean (or sea), he was swallowed by a really big fish - which I'm sure did not smell very good with everything rotting around him, he spent 3 days and nights in the dark with who knows what else the whale was eating. He was not in a very good situation. This wasn't a 'save me' prayer, it was a sacrifice of praise in the midst of a gloomy, dark place. He basically was saying, 'God, You're good - You're right, I'm wrong. I'm sorry. I know my place now. I will do what You have asked, but I don't think my way is working very well. You are the Only One Who can rescue me.' Then, he didn't ask, he declared that 'Salvation comes from the Lord.'
Perfect example of offering a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. I'm sure he wasn't all happy and joyful about his circumstances. I would have been pretty depressed - angry - frustrated. I would have tried to get out until I was too tired to try. I would be wondering at some point if I was going to die or if God was listening. My emotions definitely would have been astir. But I'm also pretty tenacious. No matter how far down I've been in the past, my spirit would always be holding onto the tiniest thread of hope. Maybe that's what Jonah resolved to do and from there, his faith grew.
I figure if Jonah can praise God in His situation, then I can praise Him in mine. Our situations and circumstances change - God never changes. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still and always will be God.
Yet I Will Praise You - Vineyard Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vEjt280PDo
Perfect example of offering a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. I'm sure he wasn't all happy and joyful about his circumstances. I would have been pretty depressed - angry - frustrated. I would have tried to get out until I was too tired to try. I would be wondering at some point if I was going to die or if God was listening. My emotions definitely would have been astir. But I'm also pretty tenacious. No matter how far down I've been in the past, my spirit would always be holding onto the tiniest thread of hope. Maybe that's what Jonah resolved to do and from there, his faith grew.
I figure if Jonah can praise God in His situation, then I can praise Him in mine. Our situations and circumstances change - God never changes. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still and always will be God.
Yet I Will Praise You - Vineyard Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vEjt280PDo
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