Thanksgiving prayer in suffering, Unexpected God’s salvation (Jonah 2:1)

 Thanksgiving prayer in suffering, 

Unexpected God’s salvation

 

 

“Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish,” (Jonah 2:1).

 

 

                How could Jonah give thanks to God even in times of sufferings?  He remembered the grace of salvation that God had given to him in the past.  Then what was the grace of salvation that God had given to Jonah in the past?  God saved Jonah when he was thrown into the sea by commanding the great fish to swallow Jonah (1:15).

 

                This is not the salvation we pray for and expect.  The salvation we are praying and expecting is that when we ask God for deliverance, God deliver us right away.  For example, when Apostle Peter, who was sinking into the water, said to Jesus “Lord, save me” (Mt. 14:30) Jesus "immediately" stretched our His hands and took hold of Peter and they got into the boat (vv. 31-32).  Although Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus but became frightened and began to sink because he saw the wind (vv. 29-30), don’t you think Peter walked on the water with Jesus when they were getting into the boat together?  However, God caused Jonah to enter into the stomach of the great fish (Jonah 1:17) instead of putting into the ship again (v. 3) [even though the ship was about to break up (v. 4)] when Jonah was thrown into the sea (v. 15).  Who will pray and expect this kind of salvation?  Who would expect to be delivered in suffering (cast into the sea) to another suffering (in the stomach of the great fish)?

 

                Why didn’t God deliver Jonah like Apostle Peter but was delivered to the stomach of the great fish?  Though we can never fully understand God's will (Job 5:9, 37: 5), I think there are at least two reasons:

 

                The first reason seems to be that God made Jonah to realize that when he disobeyed God's command (1:2-3), he was going down the road of disobedience.

 

                The Lord’s command was to “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me” (1:2).  But Jonah went down to Joppa, and went down into the ship (v. 3), and went down below the deck (v. 5) and went down to the roots of the mountain (2:6).  This path of disobedience is downhill.

 

                The second reason seems to be that God made Jonah to pray inside the stomach of the great fish and to make him realize that "Salvation is from the Lord" (2:9).

 

Maybe if Jonah was delivered to the ship like Peter, then he would not have confessed “Salvation is from the Lord” (2:9) even though he would offer the prayer of thanksgiving.  And looking at the "Lord's temple" (v. 4) of the Lord, which may be felt far and wide in the deep, deep sea fish, Jonah would have thought humanly that it was impossible for him to receive deliverance from the situation.  At that time, he could only look toward the God of salvation.  And he realized that God was the savior, not in the ship, but in the stomach of the great fish.  Therefore, although Jonah was not yet delivered from the stomach of the great fish, he gave thanks to God with assurance of salvation (vv.1, 9).

 

                Like Jonah, we must also give thanks to God in our suffering.  In the midst of going through suffering, we must remember the grace of God's salvation in the past and give thanks to God in advance with the assurance of salvation.  Though the way in which God saves us from suffering differs from our prayer and expectation, we must give thanks to God in advance, believing that salvation is from the Lord, and God will save us in his own way and thus will fulfill his purpose of our suffering.