Jonah – Chapter 2
Failing Forward
February 9, 2020
Jonah 2:1-6 NIV
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. 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.
Two things to remember when we fail:
1. Repentance turns us in the right direction.
Repentance allows us to return to God with heart and soul. Jonah would have to repent if he expected repentance from the people of Nineveh.
All spiritual advances begin with turning away from what’s hindering our obedience.
We cannot save ourselves. At some point, we have to give ourselves completely to God.
2. Failure is never final.
Every great human achievement was accomplished because someone did not give up.
Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. Winston Churchill
• Failure can be devastating without hope.
• Without hope, joy seems impossible.
v.6 - But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.
Hope is God’s promises alive in us.
Joy is God’s promises delivered to us.
Hope is a deposit guaranteeing that joy is on the way!
Conclusion:
Every pit can become holy ground.
Jonah 2:8-9 NIV
“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.’”
We don’t need God to be something new, we need him to be the same as yesterday.
The Table:
Psalm 51:10-12 NIV
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
