“When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” —Jonah 2:7

When a humpback whale off Herring Cove Beach swallowed Michael Packard, it was utter darkness for the veteran lobster diver. “I was completely inside; it was completely black,” Packard said. “I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m getting out of here. I’m done, I’m dead.’ All I could think of was my boys — they’re 12 and 15 years old.”

Can you imagine that feeling of despair? For Jonah, it was three days of utter and complete darkness. He had been guilty of judging who was worthy or not worthy of God’s grace. He would rather see his enemies perish than for them to experience mercy and forgiveness. So he “sailed” away from God’s mission and tried to do his own thing. It didn’t go well. God was faithful to send one crisis after another in an attempt to rescue Jonah from himself, reset his heart, and correct his vision.

In an incredible twist of fate, the drifting prophet now finds himself in a place where he needs mercy more than those he had denied mercy. Had Jonah been as desperate for those unlovable Ninevites as God was relentlessly desperate for him, he would’ve never been in this predicament. But now he is “bottomed out” and crying out to God from the reeking belly of a fish.

There is much we can glean from Jonah’s prayer of desperation. We see that he uses language from the Psalms, revealing that Jonah was a man who knew God’s Word, and knew it by heart, because there would’ve been no Bible and no candle in the fish’s belly. In order to survive the torture of a Nazi concentration camp, Corrie Ten Boom spoke of relying on the memory of scripture that had been stored in her heart. Don’t underestimate the importance of hiding God’s Word in your heart because you never know when your desperation will make you lean upon it more than your next meal.

We can also see how Jonah’s prayer reveals the way he interprets his circumstances. Jonah said to God, “For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas.” He doesn’t blame the sailors because he recognizes that God was working sovereignly through them. Joseph once told the brothers who had beaten and betrayed him, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). There is nothing like a grim dark night of the soul to prune our hearts, humble us, retract those accusatory fingers we are pointing at others, and recalibrate our perspective. God’s ways are so much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), and we drift when we fail to trust His process.

But perhaps the most important lesson we can pull from Jonah’s prayer is the element of remembrance. “When my life was fainting away,” Jonah cried, “I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you…” (v.7). That remembrance of God’s character, faithfulness, and sovereignty over our lives can reset us with sincere gratitude, humble surrender (sacrifice), and renewed vows as we see in verse 9. At the conclusion of his prayer, the Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. His salvation was by grace alone, for Jonah had done nothing to deserve being rescued.

Consider: Where do you find yourself desperate right now? Financial hardship? Loneliness? Anxiety? Fractured relationships or family dysfunction? Disconnect with your spouse? Prodigal children drifting away from the Lord? Debilitating illness? Anger at the world? A deficiency of compassion or mercy? It is good to “remember” the heart of the Father and His relentlessness love for us. In the belly of a fish there isn’t much you can control, but you can still trust the heart of God even when you can’t see His hand. Because God is good, a fish’s belly doesn’t have to be a pit of despair but a recalibration of HOPE.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you that you never give up on us. Your unfailing love and relentless pursuit to rescue us from ourselves is our only refuge. May we be good stewards of the mercy and grace you have given us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Group Discussion

1. When have you found it hard to be merciful to others?
2. Once inside the fish, how did Jonah respond to God’s rescue? (Jonah 2:1-9)
3. What was Jonah’s attitude toward God? (vv.7-9)
4. How has God pursued you when you have drifted or tried to avoid Him? In what ways have you been, or not been, a steward of His grace?
5. When have bad circumstances turned out for your good? How do you want to thank the Lord right now for all of the remarkable ways He has delivered you?

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The post Mercy at the Bottom appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

Text: Psalm 10:1-18

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” —Psalm 40:2

Corrie ten Boom and her sister, Betsie, were sent to a Nazi prison camp for hiding Jews in their Holland home during World War II. When Corrie remarked about the depth of the pit they were in during their imprisonment, Betsie replied, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”

I can’t begin to fathom how distant God must’ve seemed during some of those long and dreary days as these sisters faced the worst that humanity could throw at them in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. I have no idea how distant God seemed to Joseph when he was betrayed by his brothers, hurled into a pit of agony, and later sold as a slave in ancient Egypt (Genesis 37). Yet both of these stories, notwithstanding all of their dark nights of the soul, ultimately find redemption in the One Who is “deeper still.”

It’s a redemption the writer of the tenth psalm is longing for in his own crisis of the soul: “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” The psalmist seems to be troubled, even resentful, over the apparent inactivity of God as the wickedness of man prospers. Why hasn’t God shown up? Why hasn’t this despairing soul seen his breakthrough? Is the pit he finds himself in too deep for God’s reach?

According to Maclaren, the psalmist uses a rare word in the ancient Hebrew vocabulary that means “a cutting off, i.e., of hope of deliverance. The notion of distress intensified to despair is conveyed.” Yet even in his darkest notions, the writer finds a way to keep bringing himself back to the truth about his God.

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
   you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
   you are the helper of the fatherless.

Whenever we find ourselves in a similar dark night of the soul, we can do what the psalmist did and choose faith over our feelings. Waiting for God’s redemption to play out while we are in a pit is never easy, but notice how the psalmist wins the struggle. He wrestles back and forth between focusing on the circumstances (which are not favorable in the moment), and focusing on the character of God (which is “for ever and ever,” v.16). By the end of the psalm, he is fixed on the latter.

Martin Luther said:

Feelings come and feelings go,
   and feelings are deceiving.
My warrant is the Word of God,
   naught else is worth believing.

When you find yourself in a dark night of the soul, let the truth of God’s Word speak louder than your emotions; let it see farther  than your finite perspective; let it bring you to the steadfastness of your God so that you too can say, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may your word always speak louder than our circumstances. May your promises always give us a faith to see farther than our physical sight. May we never lose our trust in your faithfulness, even in our darkest nights. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for personal reflection, small group discussion, or dinner table conversations:

1. What is the darkest season you have ever had to go through?
2. Have you ever felt like the psalmist, that God was standing afar off or even hiding in a time of trouble?
3. What is the tension that you see in Psalm 10 as it unfolds? Where does the writer end up?
4. When are you most vulnerable to doubt God’s promises?
5. What can you do this week to lean more into God’s truth over your feelings or circumstances?

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The post A “Deeper Still” God appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” —1 Thessalonians 5:18

In her autobiography, Corrie ten Boom described a horrific time she and her sister experienced in a Nazi concentration camp during the early 1940s. On one occasion they were forced to take off their clothes during an inspection. Corrie stood in line feeling defiled and forsaken. Suddenly, she remembered that Jesus had hung naked on the cross. Struck with wonder and worship, Corrie whispered to her sister, “Betsie, they took His clothes too.” Betsie gasped and said, “Oh, Corrie, … and I never thanked Him.”

In Luke 17:11-19, we read a passage that appears to be a simple account of Jesus working a healing miracle. But there is also a contrast with this incident and other miracles that Jesus performed, since the healing itself is not emphasized as much as the reaction to it.

Lepers of ancient society were rejected and treated as outcasts. They were required to live outside the city in leper camps (Numbers 5:2-3) and were to cry out to warn others to keep away from them as they walked the streets (Leviticus 13:45-46). We can’t even begin to imagine their sense of shame and loss of all dignity… humanity. In utter desperation, these ten lepers cry out to Jesus for mercy. “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” he said. As they went they were all healed—all ten of them. Then only one of them—a Samaritan—upon realizing he had been healed, turned back with a loud voice of praise, fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and gave him thanks.

Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

God’s blessings can be appreciated or underappreciated. One of the signs of a maturing faith is that it continues to react to the wonders of God with praise, thanksgiving, and adoration. As matter of fact, if we ever find that our faith is no longer moved with awe and wonder at the living God then our faith has most likely stagnated. We might be lukewarm, or worse—even backslidden.

It is too easy to slip into cruise control on our spiritual journey; we lose that wide-eyed wonder, take for granted the incessant works of our Lord, and have our hearts become dull. In this state of complacency, God’s works are thought of more in past tense rather than present tense. Yet in Psalm 68:19 we find a worshiper praising God because he understood that God—who daily bears us up—is always working on our behalf. The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as our High Priest who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Cory Asbury’s lyrics attest, “the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God” keeps chasing me down. It’s a relentless pursuit that never ceases. The more I am aware of this unfailing love, the more I am filled with awe-struck wonder—worship. Praise. Thanksgiving.

We can learn much from the reaction of a grateful Samaritan who was healed of his leprosy. Praise comes very naturally when you focus on the living God. And there is no place for mediocrity in a soul that is filled with such praise and thanksgiving. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over our lives. You are the living God who daily bears us up—always working on our behalf, even behind the scenes when we are unaware. Forgive us for not thanking or praising you enough. If it’s been lost, please restore that wide-eyed wonder of WHO you are and what you are doing in us and around us. Renew our spirits that our cup would overflow with joy and praise this Thanksgiving season and throughout the year. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. For what are you most thankful?
2. What are some gratitude killers in the routine of our lives?
3. In what ways do thankfulness or thanklessness correlate with our faith? What might they reflect about our faith?
4. Where have you lost some wide-eyed wonder in your worship of Him?
5. How can you cultivate a heart of praise and thanksgiving this week?

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The post Thanksgiving Family Devotional appeared first on Jimmy Larche.