PT-3 “A Hope-Filled Confidence” (Jonah 2:5-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/11/2025 10:25 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-3 “A Hope-Filled Confidence”

Bible Reading and Meditation                                                                   Reference: Jonah 2:5-7

            Message of the verses: 

“Water encompassed me to my very soul. 

The great deep surrounded me,

Weeds were wrapped around my head. 

I went down to the base of the mountains. 

The earth with its bars closed behind me forever,

But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Yahweh my God.

While my soul was fainting within me,

 I remembered Yahweh,

And my prayer came to You,

To Your holy temple. 

            I am going to continue looking at these verses from the book of Jonah this morning, hoping to finish this section of verses, as they are a very important part of the this rather short book found in the Old Testament prophets.

            Now in verse 7, Jonah focused on the precise moment of his repentance as he recalled, “While my soul was fainting within me.” Now this language suggests that Jonah did not actually die but was on the verge of losing consciousness, and by looking at the following verses to help us best understand this (Pss. 77:3; 107:5; 142:3; 143:4; Lam. 2:12). I won’t take the time to look at all of these verses here but I do want to look at the one from Lam. 2:12 “They say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" As they faint like a wounded man In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out On their mothers’ bosom.”  Lamentations is a very sad book as Jeremiah writes it to show the ugly things that were happening to Judah as the Babylonians were defeating the Jewish people there in Jerusalem, now back to Jonah.  In that instant, with death imminent, Jonah remembered Yahweh.  To remember God is not merely to have mental recollection about Him, but to return to the Lord with full attention and renewed affection that leads to action as seen in (Gen. 8:1; 40:14; Deut. 5:15), and like above I want to focus in on one of these verses Genesis 8:1 “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.”  This verse is an appropriate verse as it also speaks of the oceans like in Jonah.  Now the prophet’s thoughts raced to the Lord, and this certainly is the first thing to do when trouble comes into your life.  He fixed his heart and hope on Him (cf. 2:Tim 2:8; Heb. 12:2).  “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

            John MacArthur writes “With no indication of panic or hysteria, but rather an attitude of worship, the prophet uttered, ‘And my prayer came to You, to Your holy temple.’  Jonah’s prayer, the same term as in verse 1, was a prayer of petition before God (You).  Jonah declared his total dependence on God and God’s sovereign ability to rescue him.

            “In referring to God, holy temple, Jonah acknowledged God’s holiness in contrast to his own sinfulness.  And since Yahweh was both graciously willing and powerfully present to answer Jonah’s prayer from the depths, Johan knew that his prayer had gone up to God in His holy temple.  While there was a temple in Jerusalem, symbolic of God’s presence on earth, Jonah believed that his prayer in fact came to God’s throne in heaven—to You, to Your holy temple (cf. 2 Sam. 22:7; Ps. 11:4; 18:6; 102:19; Isa. 66:1; Hab. 2:20; Heb. 4:16; Rev. 11:19).”  For those who know my love for the book of Revelation I will quote Revelation 11:19 here “And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”  “Yet, Jonah also understood that though God’s abode is in heaven, God is omnipresent and He dwells in holiness everywhere.  Through this monumental drama, the Lord showed Jonah that the truth he tried to ignore (by seeking to outrun God’s presence) was the truth he needed to depend on for deliverance.

            “Moreover, the Lord had been demonstrating to Jonah that He is not only present at all times and in all places, but that He is also sovereign over all peoples.  That is why He sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach to the Gentiles in the first place.  Jonah’s words in this prayer acknowledged that he understood this lesson God’s presence is not confined to Jerusalem or Israel but extends to the depths of the sea and the ends of the earth.  Accordingly, He is Lord not only of Jews but also of Gentiles (cf. Mal. 1:5, 11; Rom. 3:29; 10:12-13).”  Romans 10:12-13 “12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13  for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’”

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  Knowing that God is omnipresent, means that I can pray to Him at any time in any place, and this does bring comfort to me, especially from what is going on in my life and the life of my wife at this time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trusting the Lord in difficult times like Jonah did in his difficult time as he sank into the sea and was rescued by the Lord.

10/11/2025 10:59 AM