Unfair GraceSample

Yesterday we saw how in our deepest darkest moments, we encounter God like never before. But why does God have to do something so dramatic? Sometimes that is what it takes to get our attention. So why do we go through an experience like this? As God’s children, it is our birthright to hear our Father’s voice. To listen and to obey him. Maybe we have gotten too comfortable or we have lost that spark in our relationship with God. Maybe we have disobeyed or gone astray, far from God. We might be “doing” everything right. Going to church and fellowshipping with others, we can still be miles away from the heart of God like Jonah here.

Like Jonah, who was running away from God. In verse 4 he said, “I am driven away from your sight, yet I shall again look upon your holy temple." He figured that he was out of fellowship with God. But the second part of the verse reminded him that God was merciful as well. He repented and responded to God’s mercy. In verses 5-7, he described just how “deep” his dark moments were. He was way, way down in the sea. But still, God’s mercy reached him. He remembered the Lord, his prayer came to Him, into His holy temple. Now he was able to recall the omnipresence of God!

Have we forgotten that God is merciful? Have we gone away so far that we don’t hear his voice anymore? Seek God! Beg for mercy. He will grant it. But we must ask for it. Ask him what He wants you to change in your life. Do you want me to pray more? To spend more time with You? To get closer to You? Jonah’s prayer is now a prayer of thanksgiving, not of deliverance. God has gotten through to Jonah. He incapacitated him so that He could get through to him. Maybe this season you’re going through or the valley experience is God’s way to wake you up! It’s His way of getting you to respond to Him and the call that he has for you!