”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 2:9New International Version (NIV)
Jonah 2:9 Devotional
I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you
“I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you” (Jonah 2:9), is the way of one who finds that they are in a whale (the place where you find yourself as the consequence of bad choices and disobedience to God’s command). But the whale is not necessarily a bad place.
Therefore, the whale can be the place for a fresh or new beginning with God. The crisis of being in a place and state where you cannot make a move either forward or backward.
Sometimes, God allows a crisis moment in our lives. And in such moments we cry out to Him. We ask Him for forgiveness and the opportunity to be restored out of the mess we’ve made.
Therefore, focusing on Jonah’s prayer, there’s something for you and me to learn today. And the lesson is that you can be thankful for both your salvation and that of your neighbor.
Maybe, when God sets you free from your whale, you may still feel a nagging sense that you’ve let God down. And the guilt just won’t subside.
Or you may be seeing the bad choices that those close to you have made and you are wondering what it will take for them to finally be set free – to get out of the bad spot they are in. So bad may be where they are, that you begin to doubt the power of God’s salvation.
But God is able to save them. He is able to restore us and set us on the right path once again. Thereafter, we will be able to understand His original command and follow through in obedience.
Prayer/Blessing
Lord God, salvation belongs to you. May you give God thanks today, for you are the benefactor of His salvation. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
Exodus 17-19 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
