Before we begin this morning, I ask that we say a special prayer for a beloved friend of mine, Dick Williams. I had a chance to visit with he and his family this week, however his health has taken a negative turn.
Scriptures
Jonah 2:1-10, Psalm 121:1-8
Today’s message has only two scriptures, as they are used to address our needs in times of trouble, hardship, turmoil or when we have absolutely made a mess of things. They are “Jonah’s
Prayer,” found in Chapter two and “the 121st Psalm,” both upon which we can cast our eternal hope. Knowing that God, even if the world passes us by, can see and deliver us therein.
Suppose you were on the ship with Jonah when the boat was tossed by the wind and waves. Imagine finding him sound
asleep, while everyone else is struggling to stay afloat. What do you picture Jonah saying within himself when the sailors cast him into the sea? I can guarantee he did not say “hallelujah” or “praise the Lord.” I am sure, no matter what language at the time, he said, “I messed up.” Eager to die and be forgotten into the depths of the sea, rather than doing what God decreed. Only to be swallowed
whole by a giant fish, in which God long prepared. He remains therein for three insufferable days. Johah was not having a fun time, eating cookies, and drinking tea. The depths of the sea and the darkness that surrounded him were endless. He was tossed about by the waves as the fish swam the ocean deep. Scripture
does not precisely say when or if he immediately cried out. I suppose like us, whenever trouble finds us, we try to resolve it on our own, only to realize that we have taken an already unpleasant situation and made it significantly worse. Nevertheless, after hearing his prayer, the sincerity of his plea, his cry for help from the depths of the ocean, God heard and answered.
Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up
to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
(Psalm 139:7-8)
Often because our transgressions are so immense, God uses the extreme to get our attention and save us, out of the agony of our brokenness and being brought to our knees so that we are always reminiscent of such so that we are by no means able to proclaim, unto ourselves, any measure of God’s faithful promise of grace and mercy.
My pastor has a saying that he shares quite often, “gone too far, stayed too long, can’t get back.”
Jonah, like us, has done the same.
Today’s Podcast is titled.
I Messed Up
Jonah 2:1-10
Listen to Jonah’s prayer andremember to do likewise as we seek God’s help, and presence.
1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 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. 3 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. 4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ 5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b] the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6 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. 7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 8 “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. 9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have owed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
