115 Jonah: In Over Your Head
As we ended the last episode, after admitting that he is the cause of the ferocious storm battering their ship, our hero, Jonah, has been thrown overboard. As he sinks down into the sea, Jonah no doubt believes he is going to die.
But God has other plans.
The Bible says God “provided” a huge fish to swallow Jonah.
Now, many people hear this part of the story and react with great skepticism. Swallowed by a whale and living to tell the tale?
Well, let me offer a couple of possibilities.
HOW DID JONAH SURVIVE?
Through natural means
Believe it or not, there is actually an account of a British sailor with an oddly similar story.
But even if you don’t buy it, Jonah’s survival may have happened…
Through supernatural means
Simply said, it was a miracle. Listen, you grant me God, and anything is possible!
So here is Jonah, in the belly of a fish for three days. What did he do?
He prayed.
WHY DID JONAH PRAY?
Because he was in over his head.
There are a lot of reasons why we don’t pray as we should. But do you know what one of the main ones is? We think we can handle life without praying.
God brings Jonah to a place of total desperation. He is in over his head. And it’s then that he finally looks up.
Jonah prayed…
Because he was out of options.
The honest truth is that Jonah turns to God because he has nowhere else to turn.
Maybe that’s where you find yourself. You’re in over your head and you’re fresh out of options. You don’t know what to do.
I’ll tell you a place to start: PRAY.
God is never more than a prayer away. And the first step to getting out of the deep water you find yourself in is to humbly go to the only One who can help you get out of it or live through it.
Jonah prays and as he does, he begins to get some badly needed perspective. “Why have I been so foolish?”
It’s then that Jonah does what he should have done a lot earlier. He repents.
Repentance isn’t simply admitting that you’ve been wrong; it’s making the decision to start doing what’s right.
Repentance is the prerequisite for deliverance.
Jonah gets delivered on the third day when the fish vomited him onto dry land.
WHAT DOES JONAH TEACH US?
Our failures are not fatal.
Our hope is not futile.
Text: Jonah 1:17-2:10
Originally recorded on April 17, 2011, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.