Text: Jonah 2:1-10, Psalm 88:4-5, Psalm 88:10–12, Hebrews 4:16
This is part of a 7-day series on Jonah in the Lent 2016 reading plan.
The last thing I wanted to do was pray.
Weeks after my college graduation I was diagnosed with depression. It came crashing in like Jonah’s storm, and without much warning I found myself in the pit. Maybe you’ve been there too—in that place you can’t quite explain, marked by sorrow and shame. I had been walking with Jesus for most of my life, but I had lost all hope. I was caught in a tangle of darkness and despair.
A friend encouraged me to press into Jesus. I wondered if I still knew what that meant.
I was so painfully lost in shame and confusion that even the thought of picking up my Bible caused a wave of emotion I couldn’t bear to face. A part of me knew my friend was right: I needed Jesus more than anything, especially in the pit. But the lies were screaming at me so loudly, drowning out my best intentions, even turning my sorrow into physical pain. I just couldn’t drag myself into His presence.
I wonder if Jonah shared in those same feelings of despair. He knew his sin had caused the storm, but I wonder if he thought the fish was how God was going to end his life.
Jonah was in the pit—quite literally in the depths. He was at the bottom of the ocean, inside a beast. Yet Jonah prayed from inside the fish, from the lowest of lows.
But did Jonah want to pray? Did he sit there pouting for two-and-a-half days and then finally admit his mistake, only to be immediately spit out on dry land? Or did he call on the Lord right away, then wait in silence for three days? Did Jonah pray because he felt his own brokenness, or just because that’s what a good Jewish man ought to do?
Whether out of contrition or habit, whether upon entering the pit or on his way out—Jonah called out to the Lord. And then something remarkable happened:
“I called to the LORD in my distress, and He answered me.”
-Jonah 2:2 (emphasis mine)
The God who heard Jonah’s cry hears yours and mine—no matter the pit we find ourselves in and no matter how we got there. The God of the incarnation, who took on flesh to rescue His people—that God always comes after us. He uses whatever means necessary to bring us out of the pit, even if that pit is the stomach of a huge fish.
Like the Lord pulled Jonah out of that fish and onto dry land, God pulled me up out of my own pit, one slow inch at a time. In time I was able to turn to Him in prayer. Painful though the process was, my only regret is that I didn’t call out to Him sooner.
Have you ever wondered if the Lord’s hand can reach as far as you’ve fallen?
Read Jonah’s story and have hope. God truly is faithful. He never gives up on us. Whether you’re new to the pit or you’ve been waiting on His deliverance for some time, approach His throne with the confidence that He hears you and will answer you (Hebrews 4:16). The God who left heaven to pursue you and rose from the pit to redeem you has not forgotten you. Thanks be to God.
“But You raised my life from the Pit, LORD my God!”
-Jonah 2:6
I find that when I am in the pits of my own making, my struggle is less about God not hearing me and more about me not listening. I can easily choose to passively blame God and avoid the real issues of my own wounded heart, OR I can remember that God is God and I am not. He is faithful to His character no matter what I am going through. He promises that He will be with me. And so He is with me, even when I can’t feel Him. He promises that He hears me. And so He hears me, even when I don’t see the answer I might be expecting. This is faith. Trusting Him above ALL else, especially more than my own expectations or my shifting emotions. And to keep drawing near to Him through prayer in my own stumbling, imperfect, sloppy way. As long as I am seeking Him FIRST, bringing my WHOLE heart to Him – He will meet me right there in that ugly mess I have made.
Oh, how He loves me. He loves us. I do not believe that He desires we dwell in our trials or sorrow, nor does He promise we can avoid these. He does tell us that in this world we will have trouble but to take heart, have courage because He has overcome it all (John 16:33). I am learning that the pits are humbling times that bring me closer to Him. Maybe that is the point. However long I am in the pit, He always sees me through it. And I know and believe that there is much to be learned from the pits. In my experience, I come out stronger in Him with a greater, clearer perspective.
Our struggles are but momentary in light of eternity. It is when I seek Him first and keep that eternal perspective that He brings such peace for my tattered heart. He is good, ladies. So good. His mercy and grace are amazing. Grateful.
So good. Thanks for this crucial reminder that we so easily forget!
Isn’t that the truth, Tarah?! The first line in my journal today was: “Lord, I am so terribly forgetful.” I needed my own reminder. And I do. Every day.
So grateful for your encouragement, Beverly!
xoxo-Kaitlin
One thing I have to shake is the idea of being “out of the pit” may not look exactly how I like (financial ease, well-behaved children, husband who is home a lot, time to myself, easy clients). Maybe out is still hard hard work but it’s the refreshment, the peace from his blood that makes it bearable. Praying for more of him, whether I see it as pit-free or not.
Yep, amen! In His Presence is fullness of joy!
This devotion is so encouraging. I know at times I feel overwhelmed with this life and all the demands of working, taking care of a child, and just finding some alone time. I struggle with the having the mindset that praying/reading my bible is something I have to do, like a chore, rather than thinking of it as something I GET to do. I have an amazing God who loves me and wants ME! For anyone struggling today, just remember: the same God who created the heavens and the earth, sunrises and sunsets, and EVERYTHING beautiful on this planet decided that the world needed YOU! How amazing is that? He CHOSE you! He chooses us every day, so that’s why I choose Him.
In a pit myself, my counselor recently told me, “Sometimes, Jamie, we want the deliverance more than we want the Father.”
I’ve called out to Him from the pit so often. And so often it feels as though He won’t respond. But I read this passage from Jonah and I’m comforted knowing that He hears and will respond. He’ll respond when I want Him more than the deliverance. Because He knows what’s best for me. And what’s best for me is all of Him.
Thanks for passing along your counselor’s words! In a pit myself and this rings true.
This is exactly, exactly, exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you. Thankthanyou.
Amen! So. Well. Said.
Wow, that is so insightful, Jamie. Thank you for sharing today, friend!
xoxo-Kaitlin
Wow Jamie, I really, really needed to hear this! Thank you for sharing!!!
Praying for you, Shelby! I found myself in that exact place not too long ago. Remember, “when we find ourselves in the pit, that’s when we need Jesus more than anything.” Pray!!
I feel so distant from God lately. Stress has me worn thin, and at the end of the day I feel like when I pray, those intense emotions aren’t there. I feel a bit ashamed, honestly, because why can’t I always open my heart to such a glorious God?
Reply below!!
Sorry, that link was funky. Let’s try this: https://awordthatmatters.wordpress.com/ agai2016/03/02/fishbowl-lies/again…
I have been depressed. After eight months of family and church conflict, I feel empty and broken and without hope. I know God loves me and I know he wants to work all of these things out. But sisters, what do we do when we have been crying out to him for months and months and things have only grown worse? I don’t know how to keep praying because deep down I don’t know if I believe anything is going to change. Lord help me.
May I suggest you get the devotional Streams in the Desert. I too have been walking through trials and situations that could leave me feeling far from the Lord and through this devotional God has shown me the growth and glory that come through these dark times. Brought me closer than I have ever been.
Courtney I encourage you to seek help … My son was in the pit with depression last year and a christian counsellor really helped him. When you can’t change your circumstances and you are being dragged under by them you need someone alongside you to hear your pain and encourage you. Church conflict is difficult to cope with … It tears us up because we are a body and it hurts when we are against each other. I pray God will heal your situations in your family and church.
Are you able to take time out from these conflicts? Watching my sons deep sadness I have great concern if people feel depressed but try to soldier on without help … I hope you have support people alongside you during this difficult time.
Praying for you today, sister! I have battled depression in its various stages and intensities multiple times in my life. It is so, so hard to believe when you’re at the very bottom that you’ll ever find yourself in the middle again, let alone at the top. If you have God in your mind at all during this time, you’re already ahead of where I was, because although I believed in God, I didn’t honestly seek His mercy from such an awful disease. I just foundered and felt very alone. But He has always pulled me out of it! If all you can do is speak His name, He will hear your heart and be with you, I truly believe. Try not to let the darkness overcome you. You are never alone!
That sounds so, so stressful- I’m so sorry. I’ve had family conflict to leave with with a terrible anxiety disorder (which put me in counseling, which was wonderful). I once heard a counseling professor say that depression = a blocked goal. So then one place to start is to think about what your goal is and pray about latching on to a new goal. Resolving conflict with family and church is a good goal, but maybe it’s not supposed to be the primary goal. Or maybe there are some deeper primary goals (like mine were) of image protection (I wanted everyone to like me all the time and perceive me as wise and good and mature…that’ll stress ya out quick, lemme tell ya). But if the goal is something like, say, loving God and loving those people (which real love is sometimes not that pleasant to the receiver in the moment, it can be wounding), then lesser goals can be unfulfilled or even thwarted and you’re still “okay”. All that to say, try some soul searching about what your goals are. They’re probably good goals. But maybe God would like to replace them with even better goals. And also, counseling is a wonderful gift from God in times like these!