Jonah 2:1-10   (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Jonah 2:1-10.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Jonah 2:1 (NIV) 
 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 the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
 You hurled me into the deep, 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 brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.

On verses 1-7:  Here Jonah recounts how he cried out to God for help when he was drowning in the sea and how God rescued him.  Similarly, when we were drowning in the sea of our sin, Jesus came and rescued us from sure death.  No matter what kind of trouble you may be in, like Jonah, cry out to God and believe that God’s grace is greater and He can deliver you.

Jonah 2:8-9 (NIV) 
 “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”

On verses 8-9:  In verse 8 Jonah is speaking from personal experience: he had worshiped the idol called “my comfort, my convenience, my agenda”, but his idol worshiping tendencies came at the cost of forfeiting grace that otherwise could have been his.  In worshiping comfort, Jonah could not find the comfort he was looking for.  He realizes now that “salvation comes from the Lord” (v9) and nothing else.  Realizing this, Jonah repents and commits to doing what God had originally called him to do, which is to go to Nineveh and preach to its people (v9 – “What I have vowed I will make good”).

What can we learn from this?  You won’t find comfort by worshiping comfort.  If you want real salvation and lasting comfort, surrender to the Lord and let Him have His way in your life.

Jonah 2:10 (NIV) 
10  And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

On verse 10:  It’s as if the Lord was waiting for Jonah to come to the realization that the one Jonah really needed was Him.  Once Jonah had learned his lesson, humbled himself and prayed to the Lord, that was the secret password God was waiting to hear so that He could command the fish to vomit Jonah out.  Thought it didn’t seem like it at the time, the fish that swallowed Jonah was actually one of the best things that could ever happen to Jonah, for it was inside the fish that Jonah found the Lord once again.

What can we learn from this?  When you’re stuck in the belly of a big problem and you can’t get out, humble yourself before the Lord, knowing that He will rescue you in due time.  Once the Lord finds that you have sufficiently learned the lesson He wants you to learn, He will give the command to set you free and send you onto the next part of your journey. 

Father, thank You for rescuing me when I was drowning in the sea of my sin.  Thank You that Your grace is greater than all of my troubles put together.  Thank You that You don’t let situations swallow me up for no reason; rather, even in the midst of my biggest problems, You protect me and use the problem to teach me lessons You know I need to learn.  Come Holy Spirit and let me learn every lesson You want me to learn during this time.  I surrender to You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

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