Jonah: Big Fish, Bigger GodIsampula

Turn to the Psalms

Unless you are an Old Testament scholar, you probably didn’t know Jonah quoted so much Scripture. While inside a big fish, Jonah prayed, “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; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ 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. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple” (Jonah 2:3-7).

Almost every line of that prayer is a snippet from the Psalms—Psalms 30, 42, 5, 103, 18, and 107, proof that when you’re in a dark place (pun intended), it’s good to know your Bible. When life gets hard, there’s no better place to turn than the Psalms.

Some Christians love to start their day with a chapter of Proverbs since it’s filled with wisdom to prepare you for the day ahead. I suggest you end your day with a chapter of Psalms, a book filled with the God who saves, who is our refuge, who hears our prayers, and who lifts us up, providing peace no matter what happened during our day. Be like Jonah today and spend some time in the saving words of the Psalms.