12-16-2023

Good Morning All,

   Jonah 2: 1-2; “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.   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.”

       Have you ever been there?  Have you ever been in the belly of the fish?  Have you ever felt so cut off that there seemed to be no hope?  I can honestly say that I have never been there.  I have never felt that much pain.  I remember talking to a young man who was there.  It was quite a revealing conversation.

    He was a young man who was very exuberant in his faith.  He expressed it freely to you.  As we discussed his enthusiasm, he was very quick to tell you that it wasn’t always this way.  There was a time when he used drugs and alcohol frequently.  There were very few nights when he was sober.  He seldom had a job for more than a week.  He had been arrested a few times and spent the night in jail more than once.  He often slept in the park.  He had stolen money from his family and used people to get what he wanted.  He hadn’t been married but was father to two children by women he hardly knew.  He only chased the next fix or the next drink.  One day it caught up to him.  He had been arrested, again, for possession of narcotics.  This time, no one bailed him out.  So, he sat in the jail cell waiting for his trial.

    About a week into his wait, his brother came into the cell and looked at him and asked him, “Have you finally sunk low enough?  Have you been in the belly of the fish long enough?”  The young man said that what was really strange to him was that he understood his brother’s question; he didn’t know why but he did.  He looked at his brother and told him, “Yes, I have been here long enough.”  They prayed together and the young man began the long journey back.  His long dormant faith was bringing him back.  He is mostly reconciled with his family and is working on a relationship with his children.  That is hard because the mothers are still into the drug and alcohol, and he can’t be around that yet; it is still too enticing.

   Maybe you have been there or maybe you are there.  Maybe you have hit as far down as you can.  It may be drugs, it may be promiscuity, it may be abandonment of family or faith; it may be a lot of things but right now you are in the belly of the fish.  Call out to God and he will answer you.  Cry to the Lord in your pain or your sorrow and he will answer you.  It might take a while to get out of the fish.  There may be some healing to accomplish with those whom you have hurt but God is with you, and he will heal you by his grace.  He will first reconcile you back to himself through Jesus.  Then, slowly and with a lot of help, he will reconcile you to the world around you. It can be a tough row to hoe, but God will help you through.  Know that whatever has been done; God will forgive you and will bring you home to be with him.  God wants you out of the belly of the fish; hear his call to salvation.

Father, we pray for those who are suffering in the belly of the fish.  Whatever their pain, Father we ask that you bring them comfort and to know the hope that we have in the cross.  Lead those who can help to reach out to them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret