Mercy at Rock Bottom (Jonah 2)

Sooner or later, all of us end up in the pits of life. If you haven’t yet, it’s coming. Maybe you feel like you’re there now. One of the questions the book of Jonah answers for us is: What do you do when you find yourself in the lowest lows of life?  

That was all too real for Harrison Okene. See, in 2013, Okene was working as a cook on a tugboat off the coast of Nigeria when, in a freak accident, a wave capsized the boat. 

The wreck literally turned Okene’s world upside down—everything went dark. As water is rushing in, Okene could hear some of his crew members struggling to open the hatch to get out. But instead of waiting for them to open the door, Okene decides to go against his instincts by going deeper inside the boat. Why would you do that?  

Well, because it wasn’t uncommon to be invaded by pirates, the crew would routinely keep the cabin doors sealed shut. So Okene thought, there’s gotta be oxygen trapped in here somehow. So he gambled his life, and it paid off. He ended up tucked away in a room where an air pocket had formed near the ceiling. [FLOOR] 

Okene survived alone in darkness for nearly three days before rescue divers found him. In those lonely hours of waiting, the only thing he could do was pray, sing, and hope for a miracle.  

And that’s the situation we find Jonah in at the end of chapter 1. If you remember, last week, we left off with Jonah in a storm on a boat that’s about to go under. When the sailors throw him overboard, they know they’re sending him to his death. There are no rescue divers coming for Jonah.  

So God sends a fish, and that’s where Jonah waits for 3 days and 3 nights. It’s while he’s in the belly of the fish that he prays. See, up to this point, you could summarize the book of Jonah like this: Jonah runs away from God until he hits rock bottom, and then he looks up.  

So if you have a Bible, pick up with me in chapter 2 (on screen).  

[Jonah 2:1] – Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,

Jonah spent the entire first chapter running away from God because he didn’t like God’s assignment, and he didn’t like God’s assignment because he didn’t like God’s endgame. Eventually, Jonah hits rock bottom. Rock bottom is when you find yourself in a place you don’t want to be in, and you’ve exhausted all your options to try to get you out. Some of you might feel like you’ve been living at rock bottom for years.  

And probably for different reasons. I mean, part of what led Jonah to rock bottom is that he was actively trying to break ties with God. You would expect someone like that to bottom out at some point. People make a big deal about the fish in the story, but the bigger surprise is that Jonah can still call the Lord his God. And it’s not until Jonah hits rock bottom that he finally turns to his God in prayer.  

[v. 2] – Jonah prayed…saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,     and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried,     and you heard my voice. 3 For you cast me into the deep,     into the heart of the seas,     and the flood surrounded me; all your breakers and your waves     passed over me.

• Then I said, ‘I am driven away     from your sight;  yet I shall again look      upon your holy temple.’  
• The waters closed in over me to take my life;     the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head.6 To the roots of the mountains I went down,     to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit,     O Lord my God.
• When my life was fainting away,     I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you,     into your holy temple.
• Those who pay regard to vain idols     forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving     will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.

    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

The last thing you would expect for Jonah after he descends to his death is that he gets a resurrection. But God doesn’t treat us how we deserve, but according to his mercy.  

Four things we can learn about life at rock bottom from Jonah’s prayer:  

1. Our greatest problem is not bad circumstances, but life without God.

If you look back at the end of chapter 1, immediately after Jonah gets hurled into the water, the storm stops, but it doesn’t say immediately that his life is spared. Based on his prayer, Jonah had a hard time.  

[v. 2] – Jonah describes his experience at sea as being swallowed by death.  

[v. 5] – “The waters closed in over me to take my life;     the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head.” 

[v. 6] – To the roots of the mountains I went down,     to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. 

Now, I’m just speculating here, but I would guess if you were in a boat in the middle of a storm and the crew came to you and said, hey, we’ve done everything we can and there’s a 100% chance we’re all going to die, you probably wouldn’t say, “You know what, this all my fault. Just throw me overboard.”  

But let’s just say that you did, and they do it. What’s your next move? I mean, I don’t envy Jonah’s circumstances at all. I’d probably try swimming for as long as I could, but even as the storm at sea stopped, there’s still a storm raging inside my heart. Like what’s worse: Death by drowning or being swallowed up by who knows what? Jonah doesn’t have to decide because he gets both.  

How many of us have ever been in a scenario where we think, things can’t possibly get any worse than this? Have you ever played that game? We just get so stuck in our circumstances. We think… 

• There’s nothing worse than the Malaysian heat.  
• There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a jam on a rainy day in KL. 

But there really is… 

• There’s nothing worse than singleness.  
• There’s nothing worse than a failed marriage. 
• There’s nothing worse than a failed career. 
• There’s nothing worse than being disowned by your family.  
• There’s nothing worse than cancer.  

And you could go on and on, all the way down to…there’s nothing worse than death.  

But actually that’s not true. There’s nothing worse than being separated from God. That’s rock bottom. And maybe that’s your vantage point from wherever you’re sitting right now.  

So these are just check-up questions: How’s your relationship with God been going lately? When’s the last time you thanked God for answered prayer? When’s the last time you sought his help?

See, people will make the mistake that when the Bible talks about the righteous and the wicked, the biggest difference is that righteous people always do what’s right, and wicked people are mean, selfish, filthy sinners.  

When I was in seminary, I took a class on crisis counseling. When we got to addictions, my professor invited a guy who’d spent years battling addiction to speak with us. And he was gracious to let us ask him all kinds of questions about his life, his struggles, and the effects that had on his family. At one point, he said to our class, “I know for a fact that I am bigger sinner than all of you because I have done far worse things in my life then you could ever imagine.”  

I get why he would say that. Here you have a guy who’s been arrested, in and out of rehab, destroyed his family—standing in front of a bunch of students training for ministry. And if you judge based on earthly circumstances, then maybe he’s right. But when you consider the spiritual dangers, that way of thinking is misguided for this reason:  

By the grace of God, it had become so clear to him that he needed God in his life, and one of the biggest dangers for every ministry worker is thinking that they don’t. That they can somehow operate in their own strength without God. That’s how Jonah lived. That’s what gives you the pride to run away from God. You run away from God because you can imagine a future where he’s not needed.  

The Bible teaches that the biggest difference between the righteous and the wicked is that the righteous learn to rely on God for help, while the wicked have nothing to do with God. They don’t ask for his help, they hate his plans, and they flee his presence.  

In [Psalm 28] David says – 3 Do not drag me off with the wicked…who speak peace with their neighbors     while evil is in their hearts.

4…give to them according to the work of their hands; Which is separation from God. Why? 

5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord     or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.

David’s asking God to keep him from suffering the same fate as those who oppose God. But if Jonah were to ask for the same thing in his moment of need, he would be asking God to oppose himself. The moment Jonah said no to God’s plan to preach mercy to the nations, Jonah stood in God’s way.  

And if Jonah’s going to be consistent with God’s justice, he should say, “God drag me off with the wicked because I don’t deserve your mercy either.” But the truth is, nobody does.  

If you go back to Jonah right after he’s been cast into the sea, he can yell as loud as he wants, he can swim as hard as he wants, but there’s nothing he can do to save himself.  

You know you’ve hit rock bottom when there’s nothing else you can do but hope for a miracle. Yet even then, Jonah’s best work is to accept his condition, to surrender to the Lord, and to seek his help.  

And when Jonah does that, he begins to experience some of the incredible benefits of prayer:  

• Prayer draws you closer to God.  
• Prayer gives you a renewed perspective. It takes your attention off yourself/circumstances and onto God and his Word.  
• Prayer invites you to thank God for his past grace and confidence to seek him for future grace.  

CS Lewis once said the reason he prays: “…is because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.”

We get so hung up on what’s happening around us, but prayer reminds us that God’s just as concerned with what’s happening inside us. And we need him to quiet that inner storm of the soul.  

We don’t pray to get God to change our circumstances; we pray to get God to change us. If you notice, in [v. 9] Jonah says, But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you…IOW, Jonah’s thanking God for his mercy while he’s still in the belly of the fish. Before he ever sees the light of day again, he praises God for rescue.  

See, there’s a greater deliverance than just our bad circumstances, and that’s deliverance from sin. One of the lessons of Jonah is that it’s better to be united with God in the belly of the fish than to get everything you want and suffer life without him.  

2. There is no pit too deep for God’s mercy and grace.   

On the highest mountaintops, God is there. And in the deepest valleys, God is there. That’s good news for those who find themselves in the valley of despair.  

When we face hard times, one of the first things we might ask is, Why did God allow this? On our worst days, we might even accuse God of wrongdoing. But in the OT, they wouldn’t question God’s character. Instead, they’d wonder, Has God turned his face away? Has his presence left me? 

See, this is one of the miracles of Jonah’s prayer. He says in [v. 2] – “out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.”  

In the ancient world, Sheol is the place where dead people went until final judgment. It’s for people who’ve been cut off from God’s presence forever. Those who’ve been abandoned by God.   

Later, in [v. 4], Jonah says, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ [7] When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you in your holy temple. The holy temple being God’s home.  

Jonah was as far away from God as you can go, and he said God, you heard me. You came for me.  

Think about it like this: We know God to be just, merciful, and gracious.  

• Justice is you getting what you deserve. Anyone who turns their back on God deserves to have God do the same to them. 
• Mercy is you NOT getting what you deserve. So, you turn your back on God, and yet he comes after you.  
• Grace is you getting what you DON’T deserve. You turn your back on God, but he comes for you, he brings you back to himself, and he blesses you. 

What Jonah’s describing is the experience of God entering back into his life, and rewarding him with the blessings of his mercy and grace. 

And this matches the experience of David. In our BRP from earlier this week David says in [Ps. 30] – 2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,     and you have healed me.

3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;     you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

And then later in the psalms, David realizes there’s nowhere in all the universe that God’s presence can’t find you. He says in [Ps. 139:8] – If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning

    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me,     and your right hand shall hold me.

David’s saying, “I literally cannot escape the loving presence of God! Even if I make my bed in hell, God, you wouldn’t leave me there.” And if Jonah were in the congregation the morning they sang this song, he could stand up and shout, “Amen! I’ve had that same experience with God.”  

Honestly, that’s part of what it means to be a witness to Christ today. We go around telling others how we’ve experienced the life-giving power of God’s presence in our lives. How many of us could say I’ve experienced God do the same thing? Sometimes I think God’s kindness toward us is so incredible it almost seems unreal.  

And yet, God keeps writing these stories of his mercy and grace in the lives of people all around us. Maybe you’re here this morning, and you feel like you’re walking through your own version of hell on earth. You’re deep in the pit, and I just want to tell you, God is there. He hears you. And where the presence of the Lord is, there is fullness of joy.  

Maybe the reason you’re here this morning is because God has been pursuing you for a long time, and he’s relentless in pursuing those he loves. Maybe he brought you here this morning because he wanted you to hear that you’re not beyond his reach.  

Or maybe he brought you here because he wants you to know the storm you’re walking through right now isn’t because of his absence. It’s actually a sign of his presence and care.  

3. God will use short-term discomfort for our long-term good.

There’s nothing like some honest prayer to help you gain perspective on what God’s doing in your life. What if you spent less time focusing on what’s hard about your life and more time asking God what he’s trying to teach you through the hard things?  

If you remember, in chapter 1, Jonah had the sailors throw him into the sea. But in [v. 3] Jonah says, “God, you cast me into the deep…all your waves passed over me.” 

Now, Jonah could say: God, you didn’t have to send a storm to get my attention. You didn’t have to use a fish to save me. And you didn’t have to wait so long. Everything is yours. You could’ve parted the seas, and they’d listen. You could’ve let me walk to shore on dry ground. You could’ve saved me in an instant…I would’ve been fine with that.  

But if all we do is focus on the discomfort around us, we might miss out on the greater work God’s trying to do in us. See, when you get to the end of the prayer, in [v. 8], Jonah gets to the heart of the issue.  

The NIV translates [v. 8] like this: “Those who cling to worthless idols     turn away from God’s love for them.”

There’s two key ideas he’s hitting on here:  

The first is idolatry. Idolatry is the worship of anyone or anything above God. We commit the sin of idolatry anytime we worship something in addition to God.  

So if you follow another religion, but you’re starting to explore 

Christianity—if you really want to follow Jesus, he will call you to smash your idols and follow him alone. Jesus will not be an add-on to your other religious practices. Following Jesus means worshipping him and him alone.  

But we also commit the sin of idolatry anytime we worship something in place of God, whether that’s our careers, our finances, our love life.  

How do I know if I’ve elevated a good thing above God in my life? Here are some signs you might worship an idol: And you fill in the blank here. What is it that most dominates your thoughts and prayers? It’s probably become an idol…

• If that becomes what you look to as your primary source of identity and purpose 
• If it becomes your greatest source of fear [that dominates your thought life (e.g., What do I do if I don’t get it? Or what do I do if I lose it?)] 
• You live your life accordingly. 
• If you would serve it no matter the cost, even if it would compromise your biblical convictions, you’ve probably got an idol in your life.  

The second thing in [v. 8] is God’s covenant love. That means God’s special love for all who belong to him. And the question is: Who gets to enjoy this kind of relationship with God? This is at the heart of the whole book.  

Here’s what [v. 8] is saying: The reason people miss out on God’s love and mercy is not because God withholds it from them.  

The reason people miss out on God’s love and mercy is not because of disobedient servants who refuse to offer it.  

The reason people miss out on God’s love and mercy is that they want something else instead. 

What would you do if you saw the person you loved most throwing their life away? Out of love, you’d do anything within your power to stop them.  

Well, God does the same thing. Sometimes he’ll orchestrate hard times in your life to expose the emptiness of your idols. He’ll let you experience your idols break under pressure. To not answer when you come calling. God wants you to see your idols thoroughly disappoint you. And he’ll do it, not because he’s cruel, but because he’s kind.  

He’ll use short-term discomfort to draw you back to his lovingkindness. And it’s only after we’ve experienced God’s special love that he’ll send us out to share it with others.  

4. God’s never-ending love isn’t just for you.  

One of the fundamental truths of the whole Bible is that salvation belongs to the Lord. It took Jonah being cast into the raging seas and saved by a giant fish for him to realize that. That means God can save whoever he wants, however he wants. Sharing the gospel with others is the work he calls us to join him in, and who are we to stand in his way?  

But see, the thing that leads you to share Christ’s love with others is that you first receive his love yourself. You experience:  

God’s incredible mercy humbles us. In some of our worst parenting moments, we’ve had to repent to our kids and tell them what we’ve done is wrong, and you shouldn’t follow our example. But in some of our best moments, we’ve seen our kids come to us in tears, admitting wrong because they couldn’t believe we had responded with such kindness toward them when they’d been nothing but mean to us. God’s mercy humbles the proudest of hearts.  

God’s incredible grace produces gratitude for all the riches given to us in Christ. 

God’s incredible love means we belong to him. We’re accepted by him. And when you’re in a committed, loving relationship like that, you’re willing to serve them no matter the cost.  

The problem with Jonah is that, even as he experienced God’s mercy and grace, he still wasn’t fully captured by God’s love. He didn’t love all that God loved, which is why he was unwilling to do what God desired. What about you?  

If God really loves the lost like that, what are some ways I can grow my love for the nations around me?  

• First—Be a recipient of God’s love yourself. Grace changes us.  
• Second—Study the Word. Learn God’s plans to bring blessing to the world.  
• Third—Commit to building up his Church wherever you are.  
• Fourth—Pray God’s blessings for the nations. 

Now, I’ll give you a very practical way to do that…Ps. Peter’s going to share more about this, but this evening we’re meeting back here to pray for our city. Maybe you weren’t planning to come, but I want to ask you to reconsider. [Humbly ask]: What are you doing that’s so important? We want to boldly go before the Lord in interceding for our city. We want to give God no rest until he establishes his kingdom in all the earth.  

You can join us in that work today.  

Now, one of the ongoing problems we still face is that God can do everything necessary to save us, and we’ll still say it’s not enough because we want to define the terms of our salvation. 

[1 Cor. 1:22] says, Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,   

I was listening to this guy share his conversion story the other day, and he said, after years of debating…  

• He became convinced that his former faith didn’t hold up to scrutiny.  
• He came to trust the credibility of the Bible.  
• He became convinced of the resurrection of Jesus.  
• He’d come to accept the fate of his family disowning him. 
• He experienced personal comfort from God’s Word; it came alive to him in a way it never had before.  

And after all that, he said, “God, if you’re really real, give me a dream.” What’s holding you back from surrendering to Jesus?  

What idols or traditions are you holding on to that lead you to turn your back on God’s mercy? 

In the gospel of Matthew, people want Jesus to give them a sign. Prove to me that you’re worthy of my worship. But Jesus says the only sign you’ll get is the sign of Jonah. [Matthew 12:40] Jesus says, For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

See, just like Jonah was cast into the waters, Jesus would be cast into the pits of hell. And just like Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of the fish, Jesus would spend 3 days in the heart of the earth. Jonah suffered death because of his sin. But Jesus suffered death because of ours. 

The waves of God’s judgment passed over him. The weeds of death wrapped around his head. But unlike Jonah, Jesus was cast into Sheol, not to run away from God’s assignment, but to fulfill it. He overcame death in our place so that we don’t have to.  

Now, when Jonah got a resurrection, God sent him out to a wicked nation to call them to turn from their evil, and they believed. And God showed them incredible mercy. 

And after Jesus’ resurrection, he sends us out with an even greater message: the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he tells us to go to all the nations, calling them to repentance and faith, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all his commands. 

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^[1] Works Consulted:  

Obadiah, Jonah, Micah commentary – Wiseman, Alexander, et. al; “The Moment of Crisis” – Greear; 

“Your Own Grace” – Keller; “Hitting Rock Bottom” – Mercer