Today's service from the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, AL, was wonderful. Vice Dean Harper's message on Jonah touched me. The scripture lesson was from the book of Jonah 2:1-9.
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, 'I called to the Lord, out of my distress,and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried and thou didst hear my voice. For thou didst cast me into the deep into the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me; all thy waves and they billows passed over me. Then I said, 'I am cast out from my presence; how shall I again look upon they holy temple?' The waters closed in over me, the deep was round about me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet thou didst bring up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted me within me, i remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to thee, into thy holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true loyalty. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to thee; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!
When asked if Vice Dean Harper believed Jonah was really inside a fish he answered, "If Jesus Christ believed it, it's good enough for me." I like that answer. Granted none of us have actually been swallowed up by a big fish, however, sometimes our circumstances swallow us whole and consume our lives. Whether it's something small or a large crisis, as humans we often find ourselves in a pit.
In my personal journey, I've been consumed by chronic illness, death, and divorce to name a few significant periods of darkness.Sometimes it has felt that I've been swallowed whole and that even insignificant earthly problems cause me to stumble through life's storms; like Jonah I've been in the belly of a big fish even if not in the literal sense. I haven't always walked with grace through the fire yet on this side of the coin I see how God has used all of these circumstances to refine my life. He has indeed lifted me out of the pit of despair. Thankfully like Jonah, I have learned to call to the Lord during these times. Indeed if you trust and lean on Him, He will use these to refine you, even redefine you. All we have to do is claim Christ as our Saviour and claim our salvation today.
After being told I might not live several times and thus undergoing an Adult Stem Cell Transplant (using my own stem cells) I look at things differently. Something that would have seemed huge to me a few years ago isn't nearly as tragic. If God can get me through the dark periods of my life, the rest is icing on the cake...A cake that now has 37 candles when I was told it more than likely would not have 30. I am thankful for the new life that the Lord has given me. I don't claim to have all the answers, quite the opposite. I don't call myself a "Christian Blogger" even though I blog on occasion and am indeed a Christian. A friend of mine has as their status on Facebook "Sinner, Saved By Grace". I want to adopt that philosophy myself (kudos, ARalph). Truly that defines me. By no means do I walk the straight and narrow path, as a matter of fact I'm still looking for my way in this life and in this world. "Just Hoping To Matter" as Reese Witherspoon said as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. But knowing that though I've sinned, I am saved by God's grace and that He alone can and WILL lift me out of life's pits leads me to believe I'm going in the right direction even if I've been sidetracked along the way.
I'd like to close with the words to "How Firm A Foundation" (John Rippon). This is one of my favorite hymns and the second verse is a variation of my favorite scripture Isaiah 41:10. The words of this song say it best...
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
