Jonah 2

Disobedience Brings Hardship

Jonah 2:1–6 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. 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. 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 began to treat his calling from God as though it were simply optional when it got difficult.

This led to incredible difficulty.

It seemed as though Jonah was even going to meet a brutal end because of his disobedience.

Disobedience costs us in very real ways

If you are considering disobeying God in his word because you think it will make your life easier or more enjoyable, please consider Jonah’s experience and think again

Jonah experienced real hardship, but it wasn’t meant to kill him. It was meant to lead him to a place of humility, and that is exactly what it did.

Hardship Should Lead To Humility

Jonah 2:6–8 ESV

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. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Jonah’s hardship forced him to cry out to God as a needy sinner and to beg God for redemption.

Our own hardship should drive us to humility as we remember the love of God for us.

When we are faced with hardship because of our own disobedience, it would just be doubling down on our foolishness to start to feel sorry for ourselves and get angry with God. Rather, we should allow the hardship to remind us of our dependance on God.

And how are we dependent on God? In all ways.

Don’t forget that we are all sinners in our own ways by nature. That is how God finds us, and that is who God loves. That is who God redeems through the blood of his Son.

1 Timothy 1:12–16 ESV

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

When you are faced with hardship because of your disobedience, remember the love of Jesus that saved you in the first place. Take your place in humility, confess your sin, and throw yourself again to the mercy of Jesus.

Humility Should Lead To Obedience

Jonah 2:9–10 ESV

But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

When we are driven to a place of humility and appreciation for the love of God, we ought to realign ourselves from prideful disobedience to loving obedience.