The prayer of Jonah, have you ever read it? Here it is:
1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
As I prayed before writing this blog, I asked the Lord to help me show others that He is real. His love for us is unfathomable, His existence unexplainable. He tells Moses in Exodus 3:14
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3%3A14&version=NIV). You can’t explain it any simpler than that, He is who He is. You cannot sit and reason out who God is, He goes far beyond our mindset. As wonderfully as He made our brains, it is not the brain that recognizes Him as Lord of our lives, it is our heart, not our beating heart, but that which is deep down inside of us, our inner soul, the very essence of our existence. Mark Lowry explains it like this, enjoy: https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-itm-001&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=itm&p=mark+lowry+on+bowels#id=1&vid=7283851da1f4fbf145f6388c12e91156&action=view
Just as Noah prayed in the belly of a fish, so we should pray today, we are all in the belly of a fish today. I know that people older than me have seen World despair. This World has gone through two World Wars. Yet even in those times, those of us living in the continental United States did not experience the destruction that other countries experienced. We had our nuclear drills yet we were somehow protected. Today, the entire world is feeling and experiencing the same kind of pain. I hear God calling, to the entire world, in a still small voice, “Wake up, know that I Am who I Am.” Someday He is going to call His people home. We don’t know when but we know that with each passing day it is one day closer than the day before. If you are a Christian that will be a joyous day but if you are not, it will be a day of reckoning and doom. It may come on the day of His return or it may come the day that He has appointed as your last day on this earth but the day will come one way or another. Are you ready to meet your Maker? Are you ready to hear what He has to say to you? My friend, I hope and I pray that you are. I put my trust fully in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He is who He says He is. Can I explain to you how I know, no, you have to experience it for yourself. If you have never prayed to asked the Lord to be Lord of your life, do so today. Let Him know that you are a sinner, that you know that Jesus died and rose again to give you new life, and that you want a life with Him. At the end of your sincere prayer, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Jesus said these words, 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A+31+-+38&version=NIV)
One last video for you today, this song came to me yesterday and I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. It is so fitting for today, the troubles we are facing, the uncertainty of each passing day but we know that someday our turmoil will be over. Please friend, be ready https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l_LfGjXShg#action=share
