The God of Second Chancesعينة

God Saves a Wayward Prophet

Jonah had one job: tell the Ninevites to repent because the Lord wanted them to know Him. But the problem was, Jonah hated the Ninevites! It’s hard to blame him. They were idolatrous warriors with a reputation for cruelty. In other words, they had a lot to repent about. But Jonah’s pride, fear, ego, and entitlement got in the way of his humility and the Ninevites’ path toward God. So before God could work in the lives of the Ninevites, he had to work on Jonah first. And if Jonah wouldn’t humble himself, God would do the humbling for him in the form of a hurricane, a near-death drowning experience, and being swallowed by a giant beast of the sea.

While most people are familiar with the story of Jonah, we might overlook his prayer while he sank into the sea. The beginning of his prayer details the horrific experience of nearly drowning. The current swirled around him, the waves crashed overhead, and he started to drown (v. 3). As he continued to sink and seaweed wrapped around his head, he began to pray (vv. 5–7). Even from the depths of the sea, God still listened to his plea, and the Lord saved him from certain death (v. 7).

For Jonah, many things got in the way of his humility. He was supposed to be the one to rescue the pagan Ninevites from their idolatrous lifestyle, but it turns out there was a bit of Nineveh in Jonah. His pride and idolatry had taken over his life. But once Jonah humbled himself and prayed to God, a giant fish rescued him. Jonah later learned that a daily commitment to God meant being humble by putting aside vain idols. Jonah writes, “Those who cling to worthless idols, forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (v. 8). When we refuse to humble ourselves and cling to useless idols, we abandon any hope of mercy and grace.

Do you ever feel like you are drowning in a situation? No matter where you may be, God sees and hears you. Unfortunately, like Jonah, we often wait for times of desperation to cry to Him. What would you identify as reasons why you struggle with humility? What worthless idols are you clinging to? Don’t lose out on what God wants to do in your life and the lives of those around you.