The Futility of Life without God

As I read through the book of Jonah I cannot help but think about Jonah's journey up until this point. He went from walking with God as a prophet, to running from God's presence, to being sound asleep in the bottom of a sinking ship, to being swallowed by a great fish. It is here in the belly of the giant fish that we learn three valuable lessons from Jonah's prayer.

1. We learn the futility of life without God

In Jonah 2:1-6, Jonah uses some key words that describe the hopelessness of his situation. He says that he called out to the Lord, out of his "distress;" from "the belly of Sheol" he cried; the Lord had "cast" him into the deep of the sea; he was "driven" from God's sight; the "deep surrounded" him; and the "weeds were wrapped around his head."  It was in the place of hopelessness that Jonah found himself calling out to God for deliverance. In Jonah 2:6-7, Jonah says, "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." It was in hopelessness that Jonah called out to the Lord for deliverance. It has been said that there is a deliverance that is greater than the deliverance from bad circumstances, and that is the deliverance from sin itself. 

2. The emptiness of idols

In Jonah 2:8, Jonah says, "Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love." In the belly of the fish Jonah recognizes that the source of his own sin was idolatry. An idol is anything that we love more than God. Jonah's idols were his national pride and his unwillingness to believe that God could care enough about other people that He could extend His grace to them. 

For Jonah, he would rather disobey God and hold on to the things that he loved than obey God. The tragedy is that when Jonah allowed the idols to control his life he forfeited the grace that could have been his.

What is the thing that you say, "Without _________________ life just isn't worth living"? 

3. Salvation belongs to the Lord

We are told in Jonah 2:9, "But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!" It was in the belly of the fish, that Jonah understood that it was impossible for him to save himself. There was nothing that he could do to escape the belly of the fish. It is then that he looks to God to provide what he could not provide for himself -- he needed God's grace.

The Bible teaches that all have sinned and the consequence of our sin is death. No matter how hard we try to escape the grip of death, we are unable to deliver ourselves. It is for this reason that Jesus lived the life that we could not live and then He died the death that we were condemned to die, and then He offered us salvation as a gift.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV), “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

A few things for you to consider:

1. Have you ever received God's free gift of salvation?
2. Is there anything in your life that has hindered your walk with God? If there is, that is an idol.
3. Do you feel hopeless? Cry out to God and allow Him to bring life and hope into your life.