The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "In the Belly" for Sunday, 6 November 2016 with Scripture: Jonah 1:1-2:10

The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "In the Belly" for Sunday, 6 November 2016 with Scripture: Jonah 1:1 The word of Adonai came to Yonah the son of Amitai: 2 “Set out for the great city of Ninveh, and proclaim to it that their wickedness has come to my attention.”
3 But Yonah, in order to get away from Adonai, prepared to escape to Tarshish. He went down to Yafo, found a ship headed for Tarshish, paid the fare and went aboard, intending to travel with them to Tarshish and get away from Adonai. 4 However, Adonai let loose over the sea a violent wind, which created such stormy conditions that the ship threatened to break to pieces. 5 The sailors were frightened, and each cried out to his god. They threw the cargo overboard to make the ship easier for them to control.
Meanwhile, Yonah had gone down below into the hold, where he lay, fast asleep. 6 The ship’s captain found him and said to him, “What do you mean by sleeping? Get up! Call on your god! Maybe the god will remember us, and we won’t die.”
7 Then they said to each other, “Come, let’s draw lots to find out who is to blame for this calamity.” They drew lots, and Yonah was singled out. 8 They said to him, “Tell us now, why has this calamity come upon us? What work do you do? Where are you from? What is your country? Which is your people?” 9 He answered them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear Adonai, the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.” 10 At this the men grew very afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew he was trying to get away from Adonai, since he had told them. 11 They asked him, “What should we do to you, so that the sea will be calm for us?” — for the sea was getting rougher all the time. 12 “Pick me up,” he told them, “and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; because I know it’s my fault that this terrible storm has come over you.”
13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard, trying to reach the shore. But they couldn’t, because the sea kept growing wilder against them. 14 Finally they cried to Adonai, “Please, Adonai, please! Don’t let us perish for causing the death of this man, and don’t hold us to account for shedding innocent blood; because you, Adonai, have done what you saw fit.” 15 Then they picked up Yonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. 16 Seized with great fear of Adonai, they offered a sacrifice to Adonai and made vows.
2:1 (1:17) Adonai prepared a huge fish to swallow Yonah; and Yonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. 2 (1) From the belly of the fish Yonah prayed to Adonai his God; 3 (2) he said,
“Out of my distress I called to Adonai,
and he answered me;
from the belly of Sh’ol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
4 (3) For you threw me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas;
and the flood enveloped me;
all your surging waves passed over me.
5 (4) I thought, ‘I have been banished from your sight.’
But I will again look at your holy temple.
6 (5) The water surrounded me, threatened my life;
the deep closed over me, seaweed twined around my head.
7 (6) I was going down to the bottoms of the mountains,
to a land whose bars would close me in forever;
but you brought me up alive from the pit,
Adonai, my God!
8 (7) As my life was ebbing away,
I remembered Adonai;
and my prayer came in to you,
into your holy temple.
9 (8) “Those who worship vain idols
give up their source of mercy;
10 (9) but I, speaking my thanks aloud,
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed, I will pay.
Salvation comes from Adonai!”
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Jonah prayed, “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O LORD my God.”[Jonah 2:6 (NRSV)]
God told Jonah to deliver a warning to the Ninevites. But the Ninevites were Jonah’s enemies, and the last thing he wanted was to preach God’s message to them. So Jonah ran and hid from God. Not until after he had been cast off a boat and swallowed by a big fish did Jonah begin to pray. But rather than giving up on Jonah, God had already provided that fish to save him. What Jonah considered punishment, God had sent as a miracle to save his life.
Jonah’s story became my story when I began to run from God. Eventually, I made the biggest mistake of my life: stealing money from an employer who trusted me. Like Jonah, I was running away from my faith and trying to solve my problems alone — without God. And just as with Jonah, God sent me a lifeline; but in my case the belly where I found myself was prison. Though initially I saw it as punishment, this event was a miracle from God. While I have been in prison, God has put me back on the right path. Now I have a stronger and richer relationship with God than I ever had before.
God never gives up working through us. God is not finished with me, and I thank God daily for bringing me back to my faith. Why should we ever try to run or hide from a God who is all-knowing and who never gives up on us?
The Author: Daniel Klahn (California, USA)
Thought for the Day: When I’m in the belly of a troubled life, I can call on God who perseveres in loving me.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the miracles you bestow on us and for never giving up on us. Amen.
Prayer focus: THOSE IN PRISON

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