Jonah 2

Please do turn back in your Bible to Jonah chapter 2, page 774, Jonah chapter 2.

Jonah 2 · chapter mention Jonah 2 · chapter mention

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Now we've come to the thing that everyone remembers about Jonah, the big fish.

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But as we read this passage, the fish isn't the focus here, is it?

It's mentioned once at the end of chapter 1, and then a couple of times, and then a couple

of times in chapter 2, but the fish isn't the focus.

It's what's going on inside the fish.

In fact, it's what's being said inside this fish.

A prayer.

It's the cry of Jonah to God.

And as we read this, did you notice how heavy these words are?

The distress.

The deep.

The flood.

Sinking down to the bottom of the pit.

This isn't just a quick, light prayer to God.

This is a heavy prayer from a very dark place.

This is a cry from a man who has ruined his life.

A man who has made all the wrong choices, who has made disastrous decisions, whose life

choices, one after another, has led him here to this dark and hopeless place.

And now his life is falling apart.

He's at the lowest of lows.

Everything has gone wrong.

Nothing is right in his life.

And he's even on the brink of death.

You could say Jonah is just one step away from hell.

And you might be feeling like this today.

This despair.

This hopelessness.

You might be feeling like you've ruined your life and it's falling to pieces.

Well, if that is you, you're not alone.

This is not unique to Jonah.

Jonah is capturing something how we all can feel.

And why has all this come upon Jonah?

Jonah has run from God.

He's run from God and now he's feeling the effects.

When you run from God, you run into judgment.

And this is how it feels.

He's run from the goodness and favor and comfort and life of God.

And now he's in the midst of death.

He's crying out from the midst of judgment.

These are the words coming up from the heart of darkness itself.

Jonah has led himself here.

He's run to this place.

And now he's discovered the reality of what it means to run from God.

The reality of actually being away from God.

Being away from God is not a liberating place.

It's not a place of freedom.

No, being away from God is a dark place.

And this is the first point to see today.

Being away from God is a dark place.

Jonah has been running from God.

And now Jonah is getting exactly what he wants.

Look at verse 4.

Then I said, I am driven away from your sight.

Now we can never actually be out of God's sight.

God sees everyone at all times.

We can't actually hide from God.

But what Jonah means here is, I've been driven from your kindness.

From the goodness of God.

God's face and his kindness are linked in the Bible.

What do we often hear at the end of a Sunday service?

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance, his face upon you and give you peace.

When God's face shines on you, when you're in his sight, you're in his grace.

In his peace, in his favour.

And so when you're driven from God's sight, he still sees you, but his favour is gone.

You get to experience what life is actually like when God takes away all his goodness.

And that's what Jonah is experiencing right now.

And look what it's like.

Look how this prayer opens.

Verse 2.

Life without God is utter distress.

It does something to your soul.

It puts your soul in agony.

Your life falls into despair.

And so all this language Jonah is using, this isn't just describing him sinking into the sea.

Yes, he's been thrown overboard and he started to drown before the fish swallowed him.

But he's not just talking about his sinking body.

He's talking about his sinking soul.

Being away from God is a dark place for your body and your soul.

Look how Jonah is feeling.

Out of the belly of Sheol I cried.

Sheol is the place of death.

He's crying out from a place of death.

There's no enjoyment of life in him.

He's on the brink of dying.

He's staring into the dark abyss.

And look at verse 5.

He's trapped.

the water's pressing down on him bars closed up over him he's caged in the deep wrapped with seaweed

dragged to the bottom no escape he's run from gods and now he's drowning suffocating trapped

it's been a slow descent into the depths down into death down into the heart of darkness

and this is where he ran to and he's ruined his life everything seems hopeless he's become an utter

mess all his decisions have brought him here to this point he ran from god and this is where he

ended up he's made his bed and now he has to lie in it and he's in utter distress

and this is where running from god will lead you

this is the reality we can't ignore being away from god is a dark place

and this is why the world is so dark

this is why everything feels so hopeless right now we look around and it's darkness everywhere isn't it

you look around it's a society at war with each other you open up twitter and it's endless fighting

you go to the shops and you see rising food prices and and the cost of living you look and see the

teenage mental health crisis you see the corruption of our leaders you look overseas at the war and then

another war you see the flooding the earthquakes the tragedies you see a world in distress

a world descending into darkness down and down into the depths closing in and trapping you and it feels

like we're all drowning

this world

this world ran from god and now it's getting what it wants

you want to be away from god

this is what you get

look around at the world this is what happens when god removes his favor

when we're driven away from his sight

being away from god is a dark place

and we're living in it right now

and maybe you don't even need to look at the world to know that

maybe you're feeling this in your life right now

maybe like jonah you feel like you've ruined your life

you've made a disaster for yourself you look back on the past and you see all the decisions you've made

but all the wrong choices all the foolish things you've done and it's brought you here to today

and you think i've ruined my life

it's all over i'm trapped now

i can't escape my past

i'm entangled in where i've run to

and now i'm just sinking

and it feels hopeless

my life is fainting away

and now you find yourself in a very dark place

physically

mentally

spiritually

and you hear jonah's cry

and you think that's me

well this passage

is here to help you

this passage is here

to first help you understand what's going on in your life

god gives meaning to everything

to the good and to the bad

and so we can't truly understand our distress and our darkness without god

and so jonah helps us realize what's going on

and it's sobering to hear

if you feel like you've run from god

and you've ruined your life

what you're experiencing right now

this is not just the effects of making bad choices

you're experiencing the effects

of running away from god

of being driven from his sight

from his favor

the sinful decisions we make in life

and the disasters that follow

and the darkness where it leads us

all that is not just a hiccup in life

they're not just unfortunate circumstances

that we happen to fall into

all those moments

are us running away from god

and when we do

we feel its effects

we feel the darkness

because being away from god

is a dark place

but did you notice

all this distress

in jonah's life

is not only his own doing

did you notice

it's actually

from the lord

the lord has thrown jonah

into this distress

and this is the second thing we need to see today

the lord throws us into distress

the lord throws us into distress

so don't miss god's involvement

in all this

end of chapter one

the lord appointed the fish

chapter two verse two

for you cast me into the deep

all your waves and your billows

passed over me

and think back to chapter one

where did this whole storm come from

the lord hurled a great wind on jonah

so who brought this disaster on jonah

well in one sense jonah did

jonah ran and this is where he ran to

he brought this on himself

but who really brought this on jonah

god

this distress

this darkness

this ruined life

this is not just random

this is not just the way things are

no

it is all

from god

now this isn't easy to hear

and we will see what this does and doesn't mean in a moment

but

but this is what we need to hear

it's what the book of jonah is clear about

the distress

falling on jonah's life

the judgment he has run into

it's from god

god is in control of it

god has ordained it

it's all part of god's plan

the lord throws us into distress

and this is clear in the book of jonah

and this is clear in the whole bible

in isaiah 45

listen to how god describes himself

it's striking

listen to this

god says

i form light

and i create darkness

i make well-being

and create calamity

i am the lord who does all these things

or think about job

when job's life falls apart

what does job confess

the lord gave

and the lord has taken away

blessed be the name of the lord

god

is the one who brings his judgment

on the world that runs from him

and so just like jonah

when we run from god

and fall into sin

and we have to live with the consequences of our sin

that is from god

god is the one who throws us into distress

now let's also be clear here

god is not the author of sin

god does not sin when he does this

god cannot sin

no distress and calamity and darkness

that is god's righteous and wise judgment on the world

judgment on sin

when we run away from god

when we're away from his presence

and we've run into

darkness

and distress

we need to know

that is from god

now this isn't easy to hear

we might not like this at first

but we need to be humble here

because we really need to see

why god throws us into distress

the lord throws us into distress

for a purpose

in fact

it's for an incredibly merciful purpose

suffering

is god's megaphone in our life

that he uses

to call us back to him

it's what he did in jonah's life

and it's what he's doing in your life

suffering is god's megaphone

and this is my final point today

suffering is god's megaphone

suffering is god's megaphone

so listen to c.s lewis here

c.s lewis wrote this

and it really captures what's going on in jonah

he writes

we can ignore even pleasure

but pain

insists upon being attended to

god whispers to us

in our pleasures

speaks in our conscience

but shouts in our pains

it is his megaphone

to rouse a deaf world

do you hear what he's saying

suffering is god's megaphone

in our lives

to rouse us

to wake us up

when we're running away from god

and we encounter the effects of that

the suffering

the distress

when our lives start falling apart

that is god stopping us in our tracks

and calling us to turn back to him

and we can see this in jonah

as he runs from god in the opposite direction

all this distress and darkness

is god's megaphone in his life

blaring into his life

because look how he responds to it

verse 2

i called out to the lord

out of my distress

and he answered me

and look at verse 7

when my life was fainting away

i remembered the lord

and my prayer came to you

into your holy temple

from his distress

jonah heard god calling

he heard the megaphone

and jonah called back

that's what this prayer is

in fact

this prayer wouldn't exist

if god never threw him

into distress

in the first place

just think

imagine jonah ran away from god

toward tarshish

in the opposite direction

and imagine

god never did anything

imagine that

he just let jonah run

in fact

imagine god rewarded jonah

jonah got on the ship

and it was blue skies

and warm and easy sailing

he got to tarshish

bought a house

found a wife

had a great life

forgetting about god

he was healthy

earned loads

then he grew old

and he died with a smile

on his face

what if god never did anything

jonah would have had

an easy life

but his next life

would be very dark

he would come

face to face

with the one

he's been running from

the whole time

but that doesn't happen

in his ruined life

this darkness

this distress

what is happening

he hears god's megaphone

he hears the call of god

and it wakes him up

it stops him in his tracks

and this

is god's mercy

god doesn't let him run

god doesn't give him

the easy life

the lord is so merciful

he blares his megaphone

into jonah's life

and jonah hears it

he hears god's mercy

in his need

he realises

i can't run

i see what my life

has become

without god

this mess

this disaster

and i can't run

he realises this

which makes him see

the one who can save him

look what he cries

at the end of this prayer

salvation belongs to the lord

lord in my ruined life

i can only come to you

you're my only hope

salvation belongs to the lord

what has happened here

the lord has brought him back

and it wouldn't have happened

without this distress

this has all been god's mercy

and this goes for all of us

whatever darkness

or despair

or distress

you are going through

that is god's megaphone

in his

in your life

calling you to turn to god

and cling to him

cry out to him

if you have been running away from god

and you look at your life

and it's a disaster

you think i've ruined my life

i've made a mess

there's no hope

if you're thinking that

that means there is hope

because what you're hearing

is god's megaphone

god is not distant right now

in your life

he's in your life right now

and he's calling you

calling you to come back

maybe you've been running

your whole life

or maybe you grew up as a christian

and then you started running

wherever you are

god is calling you back

from darkness

and he's warning you

of a worse darkness to come

god is so merciful

he's not letting you be satisfied

with your life

and it may be hard to hear

but you need to realise

that is god's mercy

in your life

and so now is the time

be like jonah

and cry out to god

cry to him to save you

pray to god

to take your soul

out of darkness

and when you do

he will always hear you

he will answer you

and he will save you

i called out to the lord

out of my distress

and he answered me

out of the belly of sheol

i cried

and you heard my voice

the lord

hears the cries

of a ruined life

and he answers

with even more mercy

he answers

by forgiving

all your sins

the mess you made

the sins you've committed

all that running from god

when you cry out to him

he forgives it all

all your past

he will show you

mercy

now that

won't mean

all your problems

will disappear

but it means

he will save you

from a worse darkness

if you turn to god now

your running will end

and you will be back

with your god

your soul

will be safe forever

now there might

there may be quite a few

people here thinking

but hold on

i haven't been

like jonah

i haven't run

from god

i'm not living

in the consequences

of my own sin

i've been faithful

to him

i've done what

he's told me

but i'm still

suffering

i'm still going

through so much

look at my life

i haven't run

from god

but i'm still

in a dark place

well if that's you

again this won't be

easy to hear

but it's what we need

to hear

the suffering

you are going

through

is still

god's megaphone

in your life

god doesn't punish

his children

he doesn't bring

judgment

on the people

he saved

but he always

shows us

mercy

and that mercy

can at times

come in the form

of suffering

mercy can come

as darkness

and distress

in our lives

and god

brings that

into our lives

for a really

wise and

merciful purpose

so that we

would cling

to him

all the more

so that we

would remember

him

we would

remember he

is there

and we would

cry out to

him

so that we

would rely

on him

all the more

so that we

would not

be content

with the

comfort of

this life

so that we

would not

look to

anything else

to strengthen

us or save

us but

so that we

would look

to our

merciful god

and say

salvation

belongs to

the lord

and the lord

alone

you are my

only hope

in this life

lord

lord my

body is in

pain and

my heart

is broken

but you

are the one

who saves

you are the

lord who

will one

day bring

me out

of this

the lord

is refining

you

it may feel

like you're

being punished

or like that

god has left

you

but please

say that is

not the

case

god is in

your life

right now

his mercy

is in your

life and it

takes great

faith to see

that

your suffering

is god's

megaphone and

he's calling

you to long

for the lord's

salvation

he's calling

you to

hope for the

day when he

will bring you

out of this

pit he's

calling you

to hope for

the resurrection

look how

jonah 2

ends

and the lord

spoke to the

fish and it

vomited jonah

out upon the

dry land

he was on

the brink of

death crushed

under the ocean

in the heart

of darkness

and god placed

him back on

dry land

he felt the

fresh air in

his lungs

again

he felt the

stability of

dry land

again

he was given

a new start

he was given

a new life

i went down

to the land

whose bars

closed upon

me forever

yet you

brought up

my life

from the

pit

and that

is what

will happen

to everyone

who calls

out to the

lord in

their distress

you will

one day

be brought

up from

the dark

pit of

this world

the dark

pit of

your life

you will

be given

a new

start

a new

life

and we

know that

we know

that that

is coming

because it

happened to

the lord

jesus

jesus was

in the belly

of the earth

three days

in the belly

of death

but death

could not

hold him

death

spat him

back out

into new

life

a new

beginning

he was

brought up

from the

pit of

darkness

and so

for everyone

who believes

in him

you will

follow that

same path

if you've

made a

disaster

of your

life

you can

have an

actual

new

beginning

and it

comes at

the

resurrection

if you

are suffering

in your

body

it will

one day

be restored

if death

and loss

has sent

you into

a dark

place

the light

of a

new

day

is coming

and god's

megaphone

is calling

to you

now

hope

in that

hope

in

jesus

brothers

and sisters

the sufferings

of your

life

are not

random

our god

has not

abandoned

us

no in

your life

right now

he is

calling you

to keep

going

to keep

relying on

him

and to

hope

in the

resurrection

hope

in that

day

the day

that you

will finally

be brought

up from

this pit

and so

we have

a really

big decision

to make

with our

suffering

it is

always

god's

megaphone

but the

question is

what will

you do

with it

will you

let it

drive you

from god

or

will you

use it

to cling

to him

all the

more

to cry

to him

because he's

calling you

his mercy

is in your

life right

now for

everyone

whose life

is ruined

who is in

the heart

of darkness

there is a

hope

there is a

salvation

for you

salvation

belongs

to the

lord

let me

pray