Like Jonah

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 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. 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. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. 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.’ ” And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

Jonah 2:1-10 NIV

https://www.bible.com/111/jon.2.1-10.niv

When I read these verses from Jonah, I thought of my dark days of depression.  His words so express some of what I felt.  

Obviously, I was not inside a fish.  But I was inside a dark place in my mind of my own doing. Just like Jonah disobeyed and God (the the sailors) threw Jonah into the depths of the sea, I begged God to get me off the “merry go round of life” that I found myself running on. 

Just as Jonah was hurled into the depths, I was hurled flat on my back onto the couch. I spent a lot more days in my depths than Jonah did, but they were not nearly as fearsome as being in the belly of a whale. But they were not pleasant by any means.

We don’t often think of our sin getting us into the predicaments of life.  But sometimes they are directly related.   I was prideful. I guess in a way, that was Jonah’s problem also. He thought he knew better than the Lord who was worthy of God’s grace.

It took many years of pain, suffering and loss for me to cry out to the Lord. But I did.

Jonah said, “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple”.

Notice that Jonah was in two pits. One was his physical pit, in the belly of the whale.  One was his spiritual pit, where he wallowed in selfishness and pride.

Jonah cried out to God in that pit, and God rescued him first from his spiritual pit.

When life had gotten tough, I remembered the Lord. My prayer rose to the Lord. He heard me and delivered me from my first pit of spiritual darkness.

He rescued me. He brought me to a place of praise and thanksgiving while I was still in my second pit, which was RSD.

Jonah declared: “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.”

And God then caused the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land.

And I declared God’s glory, praising Him for healing me spiritually. And then, almost as suddenly as a vomit, God healed me.