Jonah 2:4 “I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.'”
Have you ever felt hopeless? Jonah had every reason to feel that way. Seriously. He was praying this prayer from inside a fish’s intestines. Ew.
Yet, he had hope. He said, I will look again toward your holy temple. He may have had an idea of what God was up to. He may have felt that somehow, someway, God was still going to send him to Ninevah.
Or, he may have simply known that as a child of God, we are never without hope. No matter our past, no matter our present circumstances, for the child of God, our futures are always bright. We will stand in God’s presence one day, and it will be a beautiful thing when we do. We have every good thing to look forward to.
Sometimes, it may seem like we’ve been banished from God’s sight, but that’s not true. God promised Moses and Joshua that He’d never leave them or forsake them (Joshua 1:5), and He makes the same promise to us in Matthew 28:20. No matter what we do, regardless of our sin or our circumstances, God is with us. He was with Jonah in the belly of that fish, and He is with me, with you in whatever mess of smelly intestines we may find ourselves.
Though I forget, though I feel sorry for myself and cry my eyes out, I want to be like Jonah. I know I can rest in the assurance of hope in God, no matter what.
Dear Father, Thank You for giving me hope, even in the most hopeless of situations.
Amen
What a great post- I have certainly been in some smelly intestines (love the metaphor) and I am so thankful for the promise that I am not alone in those times!
Thanks, Melissa! It was a great reminder to me, as well, that we have hope no matter what.
Thank, Renae, for the timely reminder.
Grace & Peace & Hope to you,
Jean