Jonah 2:8 "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy"
The second chapter of the book of Jonah fascinates me. Jesus referred to the story of Jonah in Matthew 12:40 when He spoke prophetically about being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Now Jonah was in a desperate situation, having been swallowed by a large fish, and having lived in the belly of it with no foreseeable way out. I can only imagine what it must have been like in there. The first thing I think of is darkness...an inability to see even your hand in front of your face. Then I think of odor. Let's just say that it couldn't have been
pleasant amid whatever the contents were in that fish's belly. Then there was probably no real room to move about or breathe....and lastly, as I said..only two ways out..one at each end of the fish...umm..I can only imagine that Jonah didn't even want to think about that.
In the midst of this seemingly impossible situation, and out of the belly of what the Bible actually calls hell, Jonah begins to cry out to the living God...and God hears his voice! Have you ever been there? Obviously, I'm not talking about a giant fish...but difficult situations can seem giant too. Sometimes we feel like we are in a true fight for our life...and we can't see the way out. It's just too dark from where we are sitting. It's too overwhelming. There don't seem to be any answers....but God!
Jonah's description of his situation demonstrates that without God, he would have been completely helpless...but Jonah wasn't without God...and neither are you. When Jonah's soul fainted within him..when he felt as though he didn't have another ounce of strength, he remembered The Lord his God...and he cried out to Him. God heard Jonah's cries.
Beloved, we are never without God. We are never left alone in the darkness. Jesus, the Light of the world...lives in us! His word says that not only will He never leave us...but He will never fail us. There may be times when people fail us. There may be times when we fail ourselves...but there will never be a time when God will fail you. You can trust Him..even when the storm clouds seem to be surrounding you.
Jonah made an incredible statement when he said, "they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy." He was saying that those who are busy looking at their circumstances..(observing lying vanities)...those who are diligently watching what is going on around them...who give attention to problems...are actually lifting the problems higher than they are lifting Jesus in their lives. In the Old Testament, they referred to this as idol worship. An idol is anything that is held in reverence above God. It can become something that you literally begin to put your trust in. Some observe idols of ambition...some idols of the flesh...some idols of intellect..while still others observe idols of self will. But these "idols"...these things that we give attention to and even become consumed with...are lying vanities. They seem to demand to be in the highest place in our lives...the place where only Jesus should sit. They bring worry, anxiety, incredible angst....while a life with Jesus at the Head of every situation, brings peace, hope and strength.
The mercies of God are new every morning. When our focus is on trouble..instead of on Jesus..we can actually end up unknowingly forsaking our own mercy, because we aren't steadfastly beholding and trusting the One Who will never leave us.
Beloved, Jesus IS truth. When everything around you tries to persuade you how bad your problem is...recognize as Jonah did, the lying vanity...and realize your full dependence on God..and His faithfulness to you. We don't need to look at our problems and remind ourselves of how big they are. We need to look at our God, and remind ourselves of how big He is! That is the truth that will carry you through any situation!