“This is alone true wisdom, to submit ourselves wholly to the will of God.”
(John Calvin)

The quote appears in the margin of my Bible in the book of Jonah. Jonah, the man who would not go where God had asked because he did not want to go to the people whom God was sending him.

We know the familiar story. He runs and jumps aboard a ship heading in the opposite direction. A terrible storm comes and the captain wakes Jonah from a deep sleep imploring him to pray to his god. We don’t know for certain if Jonah did pray, but it would seem he did not as no prayer is recorded.

Jonah instructs the other men to throw him overboard as he is the cause of the storm. The men comply and God sends a great fish to swallow him.

We find our friend in the belly of the fish and now he prays:

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!” (Jonah 2:1-2, NLT)

God knew exactly how to turn Jonah’s heart back to Him. And the Lord knows what is needed in each of our lives as well to bring us to the point of prayer and surrender.

While the sailors prayed to their gods for help (Jonah 1:5), Jonah prayed to His God, the One and Only God. Jonah knew God and knew He alone would hear his prayer and answer him.

“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still”
(Corrie ten Boom)

Our God hears the prayers which are cried from the depths of a heart seeking Him. The enemy would seek to convince us we are in over our heads, too far gone, and too far away from Him.

Call out to God. Refute the lies.

NEVER too deep.
NEVER too dark.
NEVER too desperate.
God can change any situation as we cry out to Him from the depths.

Looking to study more about Jonah? Love God Greatly has a wonderful study which you can find HERE.

Photo by Abigail Lynn on Unsplash
Today I am joining … Porch Stories and Let’s Have Coffee and Woman to Woman and Recharge Wednesday .