WHO HEARS OUR CRIES? GOD DOES.
Christina Andrews
Today’s Scripture: “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.” Jonah 2:1, NLT
Theme: I can pray and seek God, even when I am in the middle of an “impossible” mess.
JONAH AND ME? WE AREN’T SO DIFFERENT.
Life throws us curve balls. We wish life could be simple or just easy. Would it not be so nice, so peaceful, and so comforting to have nothing ever go wrong in our lives?
When Jonah was in the belly of the fish, I wonder if he ever just wished for life to be simple and easy. I think he did wish for something like this. Jonah was in the belly of a fish. He was in the thick of a hard and troublesome experience. He was stuck and he was in need of help. Yet, Jonah was not the only person to ever experience something like this… we all get stuck. We have troublesome experiences, and sometimes we just need help.
WHO DO WE CALL?
When Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he was stuck in a really hard situation. What did Jonah do? Jonah prayed. Jonah knew who could help him and at the very least, Jonah trusted God to hear his cries. Jonah told God, “This bad thing is happening to me and I know why, but I am suffering, and I wonder if you are still listening.” Jonah felt alone and could not make sense of what was happening to him.
Jonah reached out to God in his distress and told God how he was feeling, but he also recognized God for being faithful to him in the past. He was working through his emotions and turning his heart to God through prayer. As his heart turned, he was inspired to give God thanks and surrender his circumstances to God. He also vows to complete (pay) what he has promised; this can be seen as a sign of his repentance and willingness to obey!
Make It Personal: In life, we are going to experience so many hard situations. We are going to face troublesome times, but just like Jonah, we can call out to God and surrender every hard experience. We can do that because we can trust that God “has us” and has promised to care for us. We trust that God can save us from trouble, even if it is the trouble we caused. Just like Jonah who, stuck in the belly of a whale, cried out to God and He saved him — we can call out to God and He will save us. In what area of your life do you need to recognize your need for God’s help? Talk to Him; let Him know your need and your heart.
Pray: Father, thank You for today. Thank You for being trustworthy. Thank You for loving us in every circumstance. We confess that we are not perfect, and we cannot save ourselves. We know that we will face hard things in life, but we know we can trust You to hear our cries and to save us. Thank You for caring about us, even when we are responsible for our mess. Help us to trust you in all things and in all circumstances. Thank You for being so loving and so merciful towards us.
Read: Jonah 2:1-10
Weekly Memory Verse: “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45b (ESV)