Running to God
Text: Jonah 2
Core Idea: Salvation comes from the Lord. He will save us not because we are good but because He is – which means that no matter where we are, we can always run back to God knowing that He will receive us with His arms wide open. Then let’s cry out to Him, trust Him, and surrender to Him knowing that He will answer.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It is delightful to see you. I want to welcome all of you but especially our Tugboat and Anchor friends knowing that it really is a blessing to be able to worship together. I pray that you’ll continue to learn to enjoy God and love Him with all your hearts, minds, and souls. Well, we are currently going through the Book of Jonah – observing God’s gracious heart for the lost. Last week, we saw Jonah running from God because he just couldn’t understand why God was sending him to Nineveh to warn them of the coming judgment. Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian empire – one of the cruelest and most violent empires of ancient times. They were known for their brutality and evil – and, for years, Israel had been victims of their atrocity. But here was God – sending Jonah to preach to the very people he hated and feared the most. No wonder Jonah was determined to run away from this calling. Let me actually show you the map again. Jonah clearly didn’t want anything to do with this mission. But by the grace of God, that wasn’t the end of the story. God could’ve given up on Jonah and sent someone else to carry out His will – but He sought after Jonah. God threw a great storm toward the ship not because He wanted to punish Jonah or see him suffer for his disobedience, but because He wanted to bring Jonah back to where he needed to be. This wasn’t God paying Jonah back for his sin, but this was God bringing Jonah back from his sin. But despite God’s gracious invitation, Jonah remained stubborn. Instead of asking for God’s forgiveness, Jonah chose death over obedience – desiring to be thrown into the sea. Again, God had all the right to abandon Jonah – He could’ve left Jonah to drown. But that’s not what we read. Listen to how Chapter 1 ended – verse 17, “Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” God mercifully saved Jonah again – providing a way back to life. What happened after? Well, we’re about to find out. Let’s open our Bibles to Jonah 2. And I will invite Abby to the front – and she will read the passage for us.
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 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, 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 vowed 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.
Thank you, Abby, for reading the passage for us. And children, I hope you enjoyed the video – a wonderful summary of the whole story. Well, let’s start with verse 1, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.” Now, I understand why we would give so much attention to this huge fish – we all want to know what kind of fish this was and how Jonah survived inside the fish. But if you haven’t noticed, the author gives very little attention to the fish – in fact, the fish is mentioned only three times in the entire story with very little detail. What does that mean? It means that the fish is just a minor character in the plot. Yes, the fish served an important purpose. But this story is not ultimately about the great fish but a great God. We serve a God who created all things from nothing just with words. We serve a God who sovereignly governs and sustains the universe. We serve a God who heals the sick and raises the dead. Then it shouldn’t surprise us to see that He is able to command a fish to swallow Jonah so that He can rescue him. Sure, we may not understand how but we can trust that God is able to do this. So, let’s not be distracted by the fish. That really is not the point of this story – in fact, the point is for us to see that God mercifully saves Jonah again. And today, we’ll finally see Jonah responding to God’s invitation by starting his journey back to God. And this prayer will give us a glimpse of what was going on in his heart. So, with that in mind, let me share three things that Jonah does in his prayer:
· JONAH CRIES
· JONAH TRUSTS
· JONAH SURRENDERS
1) JONAH CRIES
Verse 2 – Jonah prays, “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.” Jonah shares that he’s in distress – that he feels like he’s dead. Well, I don’t think he was exaggerating since he was literally inside the digestive tract of fish intestines. I know that a lot of children’s videos (like the one that we just saw not too long ago) often illustrate this scene to be this spacious place where Jonah explores and prays. But it’s more likely that he was surrounded by blubber and waste – making it hard for him to move. And it must have been incredibly hot, smelly, and uncomfortable as gastric juice would’ve been dripping all over him. And remember, he had to be there for three days. All that to say, this couldn’t have been a pleasant experience.
But let’s think about this a little more. Why was Jonah in distress? Why was Jonah in the belly of a fish? It was because he ran away from God. In other words, it was his own sin that brought this on himself. Then considering this, it surprised me that Jonah even prayed. Here’s what I mean. One of the things that we don’t really do well is to run to God when we’ve sinned against God. Because we feel guilty, because we feel ashamed, we’re hesitant to cry out to God. In fact, if we’re suffering from the consequences of our sins, instead of asking God for His help, we just say to ourselves, “Well, I deserve this. It’s my fault. I have to pay for what I did – only after that can I approach God again.” We feel like we’re not good enough to go to God. We think that we have to do something right in order to deserve a time with God again. But that’s not what Jonah did. Call it shameless – but when Jonah was in great distress, even though it was the result of his own sin, he cried out to God. And what’s shocking is that God answered him. He didn’t say, “Oh, you’re calling for Me now – only when you need Me? Where were you when I was calling for you before? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with Me. How dare you ask for My help now? Didn’t I tell you that something horrible was going to happen if you didn’t listen to Me? Well, you brought this on yourself. You deserve this. So, don’t look for Me. Fix it yourself.” No, that’s not what He said – instead, He listened to Jonah’s cries. Now, let’s be honest – this is the image that many of us have about God. We think that God is going to be harsh against our sins. But that’s not what He did. He reached out His hands to rescue Jonah.
What does this mean for us? It means that we have a God who doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. Psalm 103:8-12, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” And Hebrews 5:2, “He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray.” When we sin, we’re encouraged to come to God because He will mercifully and compassionately receive us. He won’t handle us roughly. He won’t lash out – the way that many of our parents did. And this isn’t because He’s taking our sins lightly – absolutely not. He knows the gravity of our sins far more deeply than we’ll ever do. But He’ll respond this way because of His unwavering love for us. Brothers and sisters, He will always deal gently with us because His heart is drawn out to us. He will hear our prayers not only when we’re doing well spiritually but also when we sin against Him because He loves us and cares for us. Dane Ortlund writes, “Our sinfulness runs so deep that a tepid measure of gentleness from God would not be enough; but as deep our sinfulness runs, ever deeper runs His gentleness. As we go down into pain and anguish, we are descending ever deeper into Christ’s very heart, not away from it. When we sin, the very heart of God is drawn out to us [because] it is not our loveliness that wins His love – it’s our unloveliness.” This is so important for us to remember because we will never run back to God if we don’t believe this. We’ll be too scared, too intimidated. The weight of guilt and shame would be too great. But remember that our God will never have His back turned against us. No, He will always deal gently with us because it’s the only way He knows how to be. He is our Father. He will accept us just as we are. But because of His love for us, He won’t leave us where we are. He will lovingly shape us to become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Have you sinned against God today? Do you feel like you have drifted off too far? Do you feel like you’re not worthy to be in His presence again? Do you feel like you don’t deserve to even call out to God? Remember that His heart is inflamed with mercy and love for you. God has never given up on you. He will never abandon you. You are His. Then let’s run back to Him. Let’s cry out to Him because He’ll answer you and help you.
2) JONAH TRUSTS
Verse 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. I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight.’” One of the things that I shared last week was that Jonah mistrusted God because he couldn’t understand God. Because Jonah couldn’t see any good reasons for God’s command to go and preach to the Ninevites, Jonah assumed that there couldn’t be any – so, he began to doubt the goodness of God. Now, these words in verse 3 could sound like Jonah was blaming God for what happened to him – “You threw me into the sea and all Your waves are about to swallow me to death. Why would You let this happen to me if You say You love me? The reason why I’m suffering is because of You. It’s all Your fault. And now, I’ve been banished.” But that’s not what Jonah was saying. How do I know? Because this is what he says in verse 4, “Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.” He was basically saying, “Yes, I feel like I’ve been driven away. But I know I’m not. Yes, I’m in the waters. I’m in the belly of a fish but it’s because You love me. God, You’ve sovereignly brought me to this place to humble me, open my eyes, and lead me back to You. So, I’ll look to You again, turn to You again, trust You again even though I can’t fully understand everything.” Do you see the transformation that’s happening in Jonah’s heart? If his running away was caused by mistrusting God, he’s now taking the steps to trust God again so that he can run back to God. But here’s an important thing – he’s not trusting God because everything worked out for him. There’s no indication that anything is going to get better. But listen to what he says in verse 5, “The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 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.” Now, reading this, we can’t help but ask, “Wait, how did God rescue you? You’re still in the belly of a fish! Then how can you say something like that?” But that’s the point. He was learning to trust God not because circumstances were changing but because his heart toward God, his understanding of God was changing. Verse 7, “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, LORD, and my prayer rose to You, to Your holy temple.” He remembered who God was – that He’s a merciful God, that He’s a good God, that He cares about His people. And when he did, Jonah was able to embrace the fact that even this distress was in some ways an expression of God’s love for him – the work of His grace as a way to draw him back to God.
What does this mean for us? It means that God is inviting us to trust Him again. The word “trust” in Hebrew means “to be confident or to be sure.” In other words, when we trust God, we’re being confident in God – we’re confident that He is able, that He’s all that we need, and that He’s in complete control over our lives. And because we are confident in God, we’re able to cast all our anxieties and troubles on Him, run back to Him knowing that He will always receive us with love. Now, let’s be honest – this is not easy. This past summer, I wanted to help Eli feel comfortable in the water. So, when we were at a swimming pool, I had my arms wide open and asked him to jump in – telling him that I would catch him. But he couldn’t do it – he said he was too scared. It’s not that he didn’t trust me. But at that moment, the fear of water was too much for him – and he refused. But I didn’t give up. I asked him to jump toward me over and over again – reassuring him that I’d be right there to hold him above the waters. And he finally decided to take the risk. He stood at the edge of the pool and looked at me with suspicion. But he was determined – so, he jumped. And I caught him. After that, we were off to the races. “Let’s do it again, daddy.” And so began hours of jumping into the pool. Throwing ourselves to God is not easy because our minds are constantly filled with what-ifs – “What if God doesn’t provide? What if God doesn’t help? What if God doesn’t do this and that? What if God doesn’t catch me?” But brothers and sisters, God will always catch you. He will always be there with His arms wide open. How do I know? Because we have a God who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all – and if that’s the case, will He not also graciously give us all things (Rom. 8:32)? Then what’s holding you back from trusting the Lord? Your fears? Your ambitions? Your pride? Your guilt and shame? I invite you to fix your eyes on the Lord (not on your circumstances) and trust Him again – learn to depend on Him again because only then will you begin that journey back to God.
3) JONAH SURRENDERS
Verse 8, “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.” Now, why does Jonah talk about idols all of a sudden? Was he thinking about the sailors who were praying to the false gods in Chapter 1? Possibly. If you remember, when the ship was on the brink of being destroyed by a violent storm, these sailors cried out to their gods – asking for their mercy. But as we know, it did absolutely nothing. Then it could be that Jonah was saying, “Thank God I worship the true God – the God who created the heavens and the earth, the One who sustains all things, the One with real power. The ones who worship worthless idols are fools. Thank God I’m not like them.” But is that what was going on here? Is it possible for Jonah to be so arrogant and judgmental even in the belly of a fish? Possibly – we are that broken inside. But I think this was more of a new realization. Listen to those words again, “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.” Who turned away from God’s love for them? Jonah did. Then what was his idol? Israel. One of the things that I shared last week was that Jonah was intensely patriotic – he always wanted what was best for Israel, which is why he just couldn’t obey God’s command to go and preach to the Ninevites, the enemies of Israel. Now, some of you may ask, “What’s wrong with loving your country? How can something so honorable become so wicked?” But that’s the problem – something good can become a worthless idol. I know I shared this quote a couple of weeks ago but let me share it again because I couldn’t find anything else that gets to the heart of what idolatry is. Pastor Tim Keller says, “An idol is anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give. Anything that is so central and essential to your life, that should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. An idol is whatever you look at and say, ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’” Again, there was nothing wrong with loving Israel – but it became a problem for Jonah when Israel became more important than God Himself. And as a result, he turned away from God’s love for him.
Sadly, all of us are prone to cling to the things that are ultimately worthless. Instead of finding our greatest security and hope in God, we cling to the things that won’t last. In fact, listen to the way God describes an idol in Jeremiah 10:5, “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” In other words, they are nothing – they may promise us so much but when we most need them, when we’re at our lowest point, they’ll prove themselves completely empty and powerless. Then let me ask you, “Are you holding onto any scarecrow today? Could there be a scarecrow that you’re seeking to get life from?” If so, let this prayer remind you that it’s foolish for us to cling to our idols because they have no power to give life. Then stop running toward them today – instead, run to God. That’s what Jonah did – verse 9, “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to You. What I have vowed I will make good.” Jonah recommitted his life to God. Then let’s follow his example and surrender ourselves to God again – knowing that He alone is the source of our joy, hope, and life.
Now, before we finish, let’s look at verse 10, “And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” This must have been incredibly humbling and even humiliating for Jonah. It’s not that Jonah vomited – he was the vomit. Jonah was delivered from death covered in the vomit of this huge fish. Then you would assume that the story will have a wonderful ending – Jonah has finally learned his lesson. He’ll obey the Lord by preaching God’s Word to the Ninevites – and they will all live happily ever after. But no, that’s not what happened. Jonah went right back to his self-righteousness as if nothing happened. Even though God had mercifully saved him, even though he was humbled by this experience, his heart was still unchanged – he still despised the Ninevites. Now, before anyone criticizes Jonah, if we’re truly honest, aren’t we just like Jonah? We sin against God. We desperately pray for His forgiveness. We recommit ourselves to Him. We experience His mercy and grace. But we go back to the same lifestyle over and over again. The story of Jonah is so uncomfortable to read because it’s talking about us. The context might be different – but we’re no different than Jonah. We’re also incredibly sinful, self-centred, and stubborn.
Then is there any hope for us? Yes. Jonah says in verse 9, “Salvation comes from the LORD.” Salvation belongs to God – He alone is able to save. And this is the reason why we can still have hope. If salvation came from our performance, our achievements, and our obedience, there wouldn’t have been any hope for us. We would be lost forever. But thanks be to God for salvation comes from the Lord. Now, how did He accomplish this? Through His Son Jesus Christ. All our rebellion, all our disobedience, all our sin fell on His shoulders – and when God the Father, who is holy and righteous, saw His Son, He turned away in disgust and poured out His wrath on Him. We’re the ones who should’ve died, not Jesus. We should’ve been punished, not Him. And yet He took our place and died for us so that we could have life through Him. Brothers and sisters, are you still running away from God? Are you scared to come back because of the sins that you committed? Do you feel like there’s no hope for you? Let Jonah’s prayer remind you that it’s okay to come home – He’s been waiting for you. Yes, God sees your sins – but He still loves you. So, surrender your life to Him once again. Run back to Him today because He will welcome you over and over and over again.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, salvation comes from the Lord. He will save us not because we are good but because He is – which means that no matter where we are, we can always run back to God knowing that He will receive us with His arms wide open. Then let’s cry out to Him, trust Him, surrender to Him knowing that He will answer.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) When you mess up or sin against God, do you keep your distance from God? Why? What can help you run toward God?
2) God placed Jonah in the belly of a fish to transform his hardened heart. How is God cultivating humility in your life today? How is God shaping you today?
3) What idols have you clung to that have hindered your walk with Jesus?
4) How can you apply the lessons of Jonah’s prayer to your own life? In your CG, share one thing that you are taking home from this passage and pray for each other.