Jonah 2:1-10

Pain is a wonderful blessing from God.  None of us like pain because of the way it makes us feel but without it we would not be able to liver very long.  Pain is God’s way of warning us that something is wrong and motivating us to change in order to find relief.  If I put my hand too close to a fire, the pain I feel will let me know my hand is too close and will motivate me to move it away as quickly as possible.  Pain also has a way of making us draw closer to the Lord and turn away from our sin.  Jonah was disobeying God but feeling no pain until his body hit the water in the midst of a storm and he began to tire and sink to the bottom of the ocean.  God spared his life by sending a fish to swallow him which in and of itself must have been a very painful experience.  Jonah, now in the belly of a fish, continues to be in pain and knows that death must be imminent.  Jonah’s pain motivates him to call out to the Lord from whom he had been running.

JONAH PRAYS FOR DELIVERANCE: Jonah calls out to the Lord and recognizes that His is the only source of deliverance.  Jonah recalls before the Lord the desperation of his situation.  He was in the depths of the sea.  His life was fading from him and he saw himself going down into death.  However God prolonged his life giving him an opportunity to call out to Him in order to find forgiveness.  Jonah has confidence that the Lord hears his prayers and would answer.  Jonah recognizes the danger of his plight and he also realizes that the Lord is his only hope of survival.  His pain led him to the point of calling out the Lord in prayer.  God continues to use pain as a consequence of sin to motivate men to turn to Him.  Repentance is the key to finding relief from the pain of sin. 


JONAH PROMISES OBEDIENCE: Jonah not only repents of his sin but he recognizes his need to follow the Lord in obedience.  He promises to stop running from the Lord and return to the temple in fellowship with God.  He remembers the sweetness of his fellowship with God and the futility of his own idolatry.  He promises to keep his vows to the Lord and live in thanksgiving before Him.  This is the attitude that God looks for in all of us.  We must come to the place in our lives where we no longer want to experience the pain of our sin and begin to long for restored fellowship with God.  God stands ready to forgive all who will repent of theirs sin and turn to Him in faith.  We demonstrate this reality through obedience.  Just as God spoke to the fish and Jonah was vomited out onto the beach; God stands ready to rescue those who repent and turn to Him with an attitude of worship.

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