June 28 - Jonah's Prayer

Read Jonah 2 (don't worry...it's short)

Context: Most of us know this story...Jonah has run away from God, been in a huge storm at sea, and has been thrown overboard. A great fish has swallowed him up and he's been inside for three days and nights.

Text:
1 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 the depths of the grave [a] I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 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.
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 brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.
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
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."
10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (NIV)
Footnotes:
Jonah 2:2 Hebrew Sheol
Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat
taken from www.biblegateway.com

Has God ever had to 'throw you off the deep end' to get your attention? I'm glad he hasn't done this to me literally, but sometimes it seems like he has to knock me out just to get me to sit still and listen to him. Like Jonah, sometimes I need to have the 'seaweed wrapped around my head' to remember to turn to God. Why in the world do we think that we know better than he?

Verse 8 could be a portrait of life in the 21st century...we cling to worthless idols that take our time and attention away from God (money, fame, busy-ness, sports, television, etc.), giving away the grace that could be ours. Let's "embrace the grace"!