Salvation comes from the Lord

 Jonah 1:17-2:10

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: 

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.

“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. 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.’

This moving psalm records Jonah's cry from the belly of the fish. He vividly describes his near-death by drowning, the fate from which God has saved him. Uncomfortable though he now is, he has come to his senses, remembering his 'true loyalty. And God responds by returning him to the world of light and air. He will have the chance to begin again.

Why?

In my distress, I called to the Lord and God listened to my cry. The Lord listens to our prayer.

Jonah believes when he turns to the Lord, the Lord will bring him up from the pit.

The salvation comes from the Lord, this is the truth and our hope in Jesus Christ.

-------------

悔改的禱告：暴風是管教也是恩典，不會跑太遠。神是萬物的主，約拿也受盡苦頭，他本來想要死，但是神安排一條魚拯救他，神管教也救贖他。

神讓他身體絕望，也讓他認識神。他仍然相信神聽他的禱告。更難得的是為眼前的遭遇，絕境中，他仍然感謝。

魚腹中面臨死亡，完全沒有盼望的地方，完全黑暗的地方，看似活的，卻是死的，只有神是我們唯一的亮光。

他許的願是他願意遵行神的話，去尼尼微。唯有順服回轉才是唯一的出路。

-------------

How?

No matter what happen trust in the Lord and pray to the Lord, for salvation comes from the Lord.