Jonah 2 - Jonah's Lament

Big Idea:

Jonah’s lament directed him to Jesus.

Intro:

Pray for Davey?

Have you ever tried to fix or build anything with the wrong tools?

Now, before I proceed, I’m not speaking out of my expertise. I am not a handy guy. If you go to our church office, most of the recent “big” furniture has been built by our office assistant - Hannah. But I have had to build/fix a few things in my life. And I’ve stripped a screw more than a few times, which only makes more of a mess.

Having the right tools makes a huge difference.

Right now, we’re currently going through the Book of Jonah. And it’s teaching us to deal with the messes in our lives. The messiness that is present, even when we follow God. In fact, the truth is, God has chosen to use messiness as part of His process to save the world...

Proverbs 14:4 NLT

Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

One thing this teaches us is God has not excluded messiness from His mission. Just as oxen (who make a poopy mess in the stable) are necessary for the harvest, if we compare the stable to the church, God calls us to participate in the harvest knowing full well our sinfulness will bring a mess into His house. Therefore, while we don’t value the sinful mess, we should expect it, because God expects it. And, we should remember that God uses it...

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

And Jonah is a perfect example of this. Jonah is true prophet of God. God calls Jonah to bring forth a harvest. But Jonah runs instead. And it creates a mess.

Now, many of the lessons Jonah teaches us comes from the negative, meaning we learn what “not” to do. Jonah is spiritually immature. And in this book, he rarely makes good choices.

However, Jonah is still a legit prophet. And there are positive things we can learn from him too. In fact, today, Jonah is going to use a powerful biblical tool to fix his mess. And it’s a tool that the church has forgotten or never learned. It’s the process of biblical lament.

The dictionary defines lament as...

A passionate expression of grief or sorrow. Or, an expression of regret or disappointment; a complaint.

Some of us are like, “Complaining? I already got that tool in my belt. In fact, that might be my spiritual gift.” And it’s true, according to the dictionary, most of us do not need help learning how to lament.

As a side note, I personally believe we live in a world that is deeply lamenting. Deep sorrow. Deep regret. Deep disappointment and a complaining-spirit. I believe this may account for some of our current mental health crisis.

Now, I’m gonna say something that might be challenging, but please hear me out. I think many of our mental health problems (both in and out of the church) are connected to spiritual immaturity. Yes, there are times when physical issues impact our mental health (and that’s different), but there also exists a mental brokenness (mess) because we need to spiritually grow up.

The reason I believe this is because the Bible connects our spiritual maturity to our mental health - our thinking .

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In other words, our thinking directly affects our transformation (spiritual maturity). And if we find ourselves perpetually existing in the land of lament, it likely reveals immaturity. That’s where “biblical lament” comes in. This kind of lament is different than the dictionary lament.

Biblical lament is the pathway from pain to praise.

They are similar in that both acknowledge the mess in our lives. The difference is dictionary lament stops and sits in the pain. Biblical lament moves us toward hope and spiritual maturity.

This is the tool we need to recover in the church... or learn for the first time. This is a tool that myself… and my Life Group… recently learned as we studied the book, “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.”

In this book, the author shares the 4 steps of biblical lament...

Turning to God in prayer.

Complaining (again, some of us are gonna be good at this!).

Ask boldly.

Trust God.

This process is used in the psalms, the book of Lamentations, and other Scriptures. And when we find ourselves in a painful mess, biblical lament walks us through these four steps and eventually arrives at a position of praise. Biblical lament is a tool for dealing with our messy brokenness, transforming our thinking, and growing spiritual maturity. And it’s a process that Jonah (the broken, poopy, messy prophet) knew… check it out...

Some context...

God asked Jonah to go and preach to the wicked city of Nineveh.

Jonah runs away instead and sails to Spain.

While Jonah is sleeping, God sends a supernatural storm to get his attention.

The pagan (unbelievering) sailors discover this is Jonah’s fault and ask how to get right with God.

Jonah tells them to throw him overboard and they do… and the storm stops.

The sailors worship God!

Jonah allowing himself to be thrown into the sea (which was certain death) was a form of repentance (turning from his sin), since as a prophet of God, he knew his sin deserved death.

But God’s grace sent a giant fish to swallow and save Jonah. And it’s at this point we continue the story...

Jonah 2:1–2 ESV

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “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.

Exegesis:

Jonah’s spiritual immaturity created a huge mess. He’s run from God, he’s been thrown into the stormy seas, and now he’s deep in the ocean, in the belly of a giant fish. It’s this picture of a downward spiral of spiritual shame.

In Jonah’s mind, it can’t get any worse. He’s in Sheol - the realm of the dead. He might as well be in the grave. And yet, there’s still hope w/ Jonah. Maybe in a moment of last second desperation, Jonah pulls out a tool that might help him in his mess - biblical lament.

And the first step of lament is to...

Turn to God in prayer.

This seems like an opportune time to remind you of a major purpose of the book of Jonah… this book is a spiritual mirror. We’re supposed to read it and ask the question: Is this me?

Maybe today you feel like Jonah. You are at your lowest point (and no one knows it but you). Maybe you’ve been there for a while and are stuck. And you’ve tried everything, but nothing’s worked. You’re trapped in the darkness. If so, know this: If you have breath, you have hope. It’s not over. Do what Jonah did: Turn to God in prayer!

It seems like a simple step, but how often do we skip it? Let’s talk about that. Why do we refuse to turn to God in prayer? I have four reasons...

Shame. For whatever reason, we believe our mess has disqualified us from receiving God’s help. We’ve messed up too many times. What we did last time crossed the line. There’s no way God will help us now, so why bother?

Ignorance. Maybe we simply do not know we can go to God in prayer. The God we’ve heard about wasn’t personal. Or, in our day, it’s not unheard of that people don’t know anything about God.

Distraction. We have access to a million different resources (a million worldly tools), all promising to fix our problems: More money. Better entertainment. Stronger pills. Another vacation. A different relationship. Additional counseling. Some of those things are helpful, but they’ve also kept us from turning to God in prayer.

And that ties us into the fourth thing… simple rebellion. We haven’t turned to God because we’d rather run. We want relief. We want help. Just not from Him.

And so, we remain in darkness and despair. But Jonah teaches us: If we have breath, we have hope. We can turn to God prayer.

Do you need to cry out to the Lord from your place of darkness? Turn to Him. He will hear your voice.

Jonah 2:3 ESV

For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.

Who cast Jonah into the deep? Who sent the waves to crash over his head? The Lord. Jonah has entered into step 2 of the biblical lament process… He’s pointing at God and saying, “You did this.” If you will, he’s...

Complain to God

Alright, all of you with the spiritual gift of complaining… now’s your chance to shine! Btw, just to be clear, I’m being sarcastic. The Holy Spirit does not give the gift of complaining to people. In fact, the Bible says...

Philippians 2:14 NLT

Do everything without complaining and arguing,

So, why am I now saying it’s okay to complain? Because this is a different type of complaining. This is not whining to other people about not getting your way. Nor is it complaining just to complain.

Step 2 of the biblical lament process is biblically complaining… in other words, honestly sharing your pain and confusion with God. Not to sit in darkness, but to step out of it.

That’s different than normal complaining, right? Typically, we complain and sit in darkness. That’s childish - spiritually immature. Biblical complaining is the spiritually mature action of confessing our difficult circumstances to the God who can help us. That’s what Jonah does… and continues to do...

Jonah 2:4–6 ESV

Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. 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 honestly complains about his messy and painful circumstances. And when we find ourselves in similar circumstances, maybe because our spiritual immaturity, turning to God in prayer and complaining can help us.

And know this: God can handle our complaints. He’s not surprised. He already knows.

Now, we aren’t disrespectful. Rather, we complain as a way to say, “God, this is painful. This is messy. And by complaining to You, I’m posturing my heart towards the only One who can help.”

When was the last time You complained to God? Go ahead. Do it now. Stop, pray, and complain. He can handle it.

… but maybe you still feel a little uncomfortable with this step. Here’s a helpful tip: Find a psalm of lament and pray it as your own. This helps ensure your complaint remains biblical.

For example Psalm 3 is a lament and uses these words for complaining...

Psalm 3:1–2 ESV

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

And we could prayerfully complain (using Psalm 3), “God, I am completely overwhelmed. Everyone is against me. Where are you? I’m doubting whether you love me or will ever save me.”

We don’t complain to stay in darkness, but to further walk down the path towards praise. And we begin to see this happen when Jonah says, “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever [complain]… YET… you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. [things are changing]”

…that brings us to step 3 of biblical lament...

Ask Boldly

Jonah 2:7 ESV

When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Jonah’s hit rock bottom. Humanely speaking, it’s over. Death is moments away. But the prophet remembers the Lord. And in his final moments, he boldly prayed for deliverance.

And let me tell you why it’s bold. Boldness is more than courage and confidence. Boldness also describes the audacity to ask God for help even though He doesn’t deserve it. Jonah deserves to die. Yet, he asks God to save him. That’s bold! Especially since this is all his fault!

Is this you today? Do you need to boldly ask for God to help you, even though you don’t deserve it? Even though the mess you are in is definitely your fault? Be encouraged… and ask boldly. And what Jonah’s lament shows us is even in the depths of depravity, we can be confident that our bold prayers instantly ascend the immeasurable distance between darkness and God’s heavenly temple.

Here’s something else that should add to our confidence in prayer. Unlike Jonah, we read this after Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus changs everything. For the better. We ask knowing God wants to save us! How do we know that? Because of Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Romans 8:32 NLT

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

Today, you can boldly ask God to help you knowing He WANTS to save you. Because of Jesus...

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Furthermore, here’s another tip we learned from the book, “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.” Boldness begets boldness.

Meaning, you should not just personally lament. You should also lament in community. Its in community we find people gifted in prayer and faith. And when they lament with us... since the Bible says...

Romans 12:15 ESV

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

…they will ask boldly for us! And their boldness will increase our boldness. Their faith grows our faith.

Jonah was alone, but we don’t need to be. If you are part of TRC, join a Life Group. Come to the mens or womens breakfast. Find people in your community who can walk with you in your mess. Their boldness turns your tools into power tools!

We now arrive at the fourth and final step...

Jonah 2:8–9 ESV

Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

The final step is to...

Trust God

In other words, the final step of lament is to put your faith in God. To believe God, to trust Him, according to His promises.

Jonah ran from God. But now, he’s walking through the steps of biblical lament. And he finishes declaring, “God WILL save me!”

Remember, at this point, He’s still in the belly of the fish. Nothing has changed. Darkness still surrounds him. But He trusts God. That’s faith.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Jonah can’t see anything, but he believes God will save him because that’s what He’s promised to do. That’s faith.

Now, consider this...

Romans 10:17 ESV

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

This final step requires something from you. It requires you to HEAR God’s word. Because you can’t believe what you don’t hear. If you are in a spiritual mess, and desire to use biblical lament, you’ll need to get into God’s word. God’s word helps us trust God.

I think we see this in Jonah’s lament. In verse 4, Jonah prayed...

Jonah 2:4 ESV

Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’

Then, in verse 7, he prays...

Jonah 2:7 ESV

When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Do you know what inspired these prayers? They came from God’s word. They are based on Solomon’s dedication prayer over the first temple.

1 Kings 8:28–30 NLT

Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.

Jonah knew was familiar with Solomon’s prayer. He knew the promise it contained… that no matter where he was or what he had done… if he turned towards the temple and prayed to the Lord, God promised to hear him and save him. God’s word helped Jonah trust God.

That’s why you need to read your Bible. God’s word gives you faith. And it’s your faith that brings God’s salvation to your as it did for Jonah.

Jonah 2:10 ESV

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

God saved Jonah out of his spiritual mess. Jonah was in the darkest pit and biblical lament brought forth a resurrection!

This is the power of lament. Lament is a path that ultimately leads us to the resurrection of Jesus - our greatest hope. The greatest fix for our greatest problem!

Jesus Himself shows us this. We were dead in our sins, but...

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

And on the cross, as Jesus was paying the price for our sins (our mess), Jesus says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). He quotes Psalm 22 - a psalm of lament. In between the cross and resurrection is a biblical lament. Jesus shows us that lament is a faithful path from pain to praise! He’s quoting a psalm of lament.

Therefore, we need to stop running to spiritually immature, unbiblical attempts to fix our pain. They can’t truly help us because they are the wrong tool for the job. But God has given us an excellent tool.

Jesus said… “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” It will be painful and messy because this world is still broken.

… “but take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Biblical lament is how we take heart. It’s the path between our pain and the victory found in Jesus.

Response:

As we close, let me ask, “Do you need to lament today?” If so, remember these four steps...

Turn to God in prayer. Don’t ignore your pain, but don’t ignore God either.

Complain. God can handle your messy circumstances. He already knows about them anyways. And if you need help biblically complaining, use a psalm of lament as a Scriptural guide.

Ask Boldly. Remember, because of Jesus, we can confidently ask because God has already proven He wants to save us!

Finally, Trust God. Put your faith in Jesus. And we best trust God by learning His promises; so, read your Bible.

I believe God wants to radically change our community here in New England. I believe He wants to use us to do that. But we need to spiritually grow up. We need to deal with the mess in the stable, so we can experience the harvest in the fields. And biblical lament is a faithful path between the two.

Lament leads us to the arms of Jesus where we will flourish forever.

Finally, if you want to learn more about lament, pick up the book “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.”

[I’ve personally used lament in the past couple months. I’ve been experiencing some painful messy circumstances, but I’ve also learned how to lament.

So, I’ve turned to God in prayer.

I complained to God about my confusing and concerns.

But I didn’t stay there. I boldly asked God to save.

Then, as darkness still surrounded me, I trusted God according to His Word. And I can tell you this, God is faithful. In the words of Jonah, I declared, “Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Lament is an excellent tool for fixing brokenness and spiritual immaturity.]

Let’s pray...

Father, we are broken and we need Your help. We’ve tried so many things and we’re still in pain - like to woman who had a blood flow for 12 years and spent her entire fortune finding a cure. But it was only when she put her faith in You that she was saved. Today, we turn to You. We complain. We ask boldly. And we trust in You, Jesus, because we know salvation belongs to You. It’s in Your mighty name we pray, amen.

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