Overboard - Week 2

Back in 2021, Michael Packard, a commercial lobster diver, was diving off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, when the unthinkable happened—he was swallowed by a whale. He later described it as feeling like he had been hit by a truck before everything suddenly went dark. At first, he thought he had been swallowed by a shark, but then he realized something: there were no teeth. 

Once he figured out where he was, he was convinced he was going to die. But miraculously, after about thirty terrifying seconds, the whale spit him out. Though he survived, he was left injured, including a broken leg. 

Can you imagine how terrifying and hopeless that must have felt? Trapped inside the mouth of one of the largest creatures on the planet, Packard lost all hope within seconds. 

Now, imagine experiencing something even worse—being stuck inside that whale for three days. That’s exactly where we left Jonah last week. 

Jonah, the runaway prophet, had been fleeing from God's call to preach against the wickedness of the Assyrian empire. In response, God sent a powerful storm. Jonah finally confessed that the storm was his fault and told the sailors to throw him overboard. That’s when he was swallowed by a "great fish." 

As we pick up in Jonah chapter 2, he finds himself in an absolutely hopeless situation. Maybe you've felt like Jonah—stuck, overwhelmed, and certain that there’s no way out. If you’ve been there, you know how awful that feeling is. 

But here’s the good news for you tonight: no matter how hopeless things seem, there is always hope in God. And we don’t just have to take my word for it—let’s see what God’s Word says about it through Jonah’s story. 

Jonah 2:1-4 (NLT): 

"Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, 

‘I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me.  I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!  You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea.  The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.  Then I said, “O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.”’ 

The call in the crisis

This is a turning point in the account of Jonah. Up to this point, he has been running from God. It’s at this point, when all seems lost, that Jonah decides to finally call out to God. And that is exactly what every one of us should do when we find ourselves in a desperate situation, we should call out to God.

Now, I know that’s often easier said than done—especially when the situation is our fault. Jonah was thrown overboard and trapped inside a whale because of his own disobedience. Sometimes, we find ourselves in what feels like hopeless situations for the same reason. 

Maybe today, you feel like you can’t call out to God because you’ve messed up too many times. Maybe there’s a secret sin in your life, and brick by brick, you feel like it’s built a wall between you and Him, and your voice can’t make it over. Or maybe you think that even if you did call out, God wouldn’t want to hear from you. 

If that’s you tonight, I get it—I really do. But let’s remember what we learn about God’s character from Jonah’s story. 

Jonah says that he cried out to God in his great trouble—and what did God do? He answered him! Jonah called to God from what felt like the land of the dead—and God heard him! 

Even though Jonah had disobeyed and was experiencing the consequences of his choices, he was never so far from God that God couldn’t reach him. 

I once heard someone put it like this: If you mess up, you shouldn’t be afraid to go to your parents and tell them. They should be the first people you turn to because they love you and will always be willing to forgive you. 

How much more is that true with God? If we are following Him, we can trust that He is a perfect Father—always waiting for us with open arms. 

Just like most of you in this room have a cell phone, you have an even more direct line to God—and that is through prayer. The best part about prayer? There are no dead zones. Jonah’s prayer reached God from the stomach of a fish! 

If you’re hesitant to pray because you think God doesn’t want to hear from you, or that He can’t hear you, let me encourage you with this: if God could hear Jonah from inside a fish at the bottom of the sea, He can absolutely hear you. Not only that—He wants to hear from you. 

So pick up that spiritual cell phone. It doesn’t even need to charge. Give God a call. He’s eager to hear from you, especially when you’re in a desperate or hopeless situation—just like Jonah was. Jonah knew that no matter how badly he had messed up, he could always call on God. 

In verse 4, Jonah says that he will look once more toward God’s holy temple. Even though Jonah had sinned and completely messed things up, he showed confidence in approaching God. 

Spoiler alert: when we get to chapter 4, Jonah admits that he knew all along that God is gracious and compassionate. He knew that God forgives and gives second chances. 

If you’re here tonight and you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, we ought to know this better than anyone. We’ve all been given a second chance—the greatest second chance in history. 

Just like Jonah, every single one of us was drowning—not in water, but in sin. We were living according to our own desires, chasing what we wanted, with no thought of pleasing God. As Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That leaves us in a desperate situation, facing the reality of spiritual death—an eternity apart from God. And just like Jonah, because of our disobedience and rebellion, this was our fault. The consequence was well-deserved. 

But unlike Jonah, God didn’t send a fish to save us—He sent His one and only Son, Jesus. 

Jesus left His heavenly home. He stepped down into our world, took on human form, and lived a perfect life. Then, because He loves us so much, He willingly went to the cross. He was brutally killed to pay the price we could never pay. 

But here’s the really cool part: just like Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, Jesus was in the heart of the earth for three days before rising again from the dead. In doing so, He fulfilled Scripture and defeated the power of sin and death forever. 

Now anyone who turns from their own way and trusts in Him can be saved and enter into a relationship with Him forever. Every wrong thing you’ve ever done—or ever will do—has been paid for by the blood of Jesus. He died so that we didn’t have to. 

And now, when we mess up, all we have to do is confess our sins to God, just like Jonah did, and He will forgive us. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

I want you to really lock in on one particular phrase in that verse: He is faithful. 

This is one of the most awesome things about the God we serve—He is always faithful, even when we are not. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 puts it this way: 

“This is a trustworthy saying:  If we die with him,  we will also live with him.  If we endure hardship,  we will reign with him.  If we deny him,  he will deny us.  If we are unfaithful,  he remains faithful,  for he cannot deny who he is.” 

Being faithful is who God is. He literally cannot be unfaithful to us because that would go against His very nature. What a comfort that is to know! 

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying go out and live however you want. Don’t go digging out your old stuffed animals and start bowing down to them or anything. But what I am saying is that even when we’re disobedient, even when we fall short and don’t live the way God wants us to, He is still faithful. He remains true to His promises—to love us, to hold us in His hand, and to save us from the punishment of sin. 

Nowhere is that clearer than in the person of Jesus. We were unfaithful and disobedient, but God still came and died in our place because He promised to rescue us. 

And that same faithfulness is what God showed Jonah by saving him in the belly of the fish. Let’s be real—God absolutely did not have to save Jonah. Jonah probably deserved to die for running from God and disobeying Him the way he did. Yet, God was faithful. And in response, Jonah offered this prayer: 

“I sank beneath the waves,  and the waters closed over me.  Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.  I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.  I was imprisoned in the earth,  whose gates lock shut forever.  But you, O Lord my God,  snatched me from the jaws of death!  As my life was slipping away,  I remembered the Lord.  And my earnest prayer went out to you  in your holy Temple.  Those who worship false gods  turn their backs on all God’s mercies.  But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,  and I will fulfill all my vows.  For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” 

Then, in verse 10, it says: 

Here we see Jonah

2. Clinging to the deliverer

Jonah clings to God as his deliverer, because he realizes the miracle of saving his life is something that only God could have done. Jonah declares that, “Salvation comes from the Lord alone!” 

He says that those who rely on idols turn their back on God’s mercies. Yet, some people choose to rely on everything but God for their deliverance. They fold their arms, turn their backs, and reject the free gift of mercy that God offers. They chase after other things—good works, grades, popularity, drugs, alcohol, sex—you name it. But the reality is this: deliverance from death, bondage, guilt, and shame comes from God and God alone. And the best part? He offers it freely to every single one of us. 

I don’t know the last time the weight of that really hit you, but I pray that it does tonight. If you’ve never personally experienced the freedom that comes from Jesus, let tonight be the night where you experience that for the first time.

Regardless of where you find yourself, in a hopeless situation, or if you feel like you are right in step with God's will for your life, I pray that you’ve been able to take something away from this chapter of Jonah. As you’re in small group tonight, I would encourage you to share if you feel like you’re in a desperate situation where you need God’s deliverance. Or if you’ve been there, share how God has delivered you through it, and how he was faithful. Share testimonies of His goodness and faithfulness tonight. Let’s pray.