'When You Hit Bottom, Look Up'

of the habits and mentality that has gotten us in the mess we are in. We get stuck, frustrated, and hopeless. 

 Jonah was in that situation. God asked him to do something hard, to go to his enemies and call them to get right with God. To avoid the call, Jonah ran in the other direction. But the situation didn’t stop there. God went after Jonah. Storms battered the ship he was on. The winds were too strong for the ship to move forward, and it was about to sink. Jonah said to the crew, “It’s my fault that we are in this predicament. I’d rather die than do what God has asked me to do, so go ahead and kill me. Toss me in the sea.” The story doesn’t end there. God sent a large fish that swallowed him. God was giving Jonah a second chance.

 Jonah lamented his situation. He cried out to God. Read Jonah 2. Jonah felt banished from God’s presence. He felt strangled by his circumstances and battered by the sea. He felt overwhelmed, rejected, lonely, full of remorse and regret. He was filled with fear, anxiety, and lack of hope until he turned to God. When Jonah hit bottom, he looked up.  

Do you feel like Jonah? Have you run from God? Do you feel lonely, remorseful, battered by life, overwhelmed by circumstances, at the end of your rope? Have you hit bottom in relationships with family, friends, or colleagues? Turn to God.

 The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expect different results. You will get different results when you change your behavior. Your behavior will change when you learn to love God. You will learn to love God when you obey Him. Jonah’s life turned around when he prayed, “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”(Jonah 2:9) It was when Jonah got to that point that “the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” (Jonah 2:10)

We are all like Jonah from time to time. The good news is that no matter how far we run, which direction we go, or the mess we have made, the answer is always the same: Look Up to God.

 Blessings in 2022,

Jonathan