Welcome to our exploration of Jonah chapter 2. In this chapter, we see Jonah's prayer from the belly of the great fish, which reveals five signs of surrender to a sovereign God. Today, we'll examine the first of these signs: being humbled before God. As we study Jonah's words, we'll see how his dire circumstances brought him to a place of genuine humility.
"God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength."
- Charles Spurgeon
Jonah 2:2-3
"I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me."
Picture Jonah: a respected prophet, now confined in the belly of a great fish. For three days and three nights, he's surrounded by darkness, engulfed by the sea. This isn't just physical discomfort; it's a profound spiritual experience.
Jonah recognizes that it's not just the sailors who threw him overboard - it's God Himself who orchestrated these circumstances. "You had cast me into the deep," he says. Jonah is coming face to face with the sovereignty of God.
In this moment, Jonah is stripped of all his pretenses. His prophetic credentials, his religious pedigree - none of it matters in the belly of the fish. He's brought low, to the very "depth of Sheol," the realm of the dead.
This humbling process is painful, but necessary. God often uses difficult circumstances to bring us to the end of ourselves, to a place where we recognize our complete dependence on Him. It's in these moments that we truly learn who God is and who we are in relation to Him.
Can you recall a time when God used difficult circumstances to humble you? How did it change your perspective?
In what areas of your life might you be resisting God's sovereignty? How can you surrender these areas to Him?
How might your life and ministry be different if you approached each day with the humility Jonah found in the fish?
True humility comes when I see myself as I truly am: a creature utterly dependent on a sovereign God.
Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis