The Pathway Of Adversity

The Pathway of Adversity

The LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea.” Jonah 1:17–2:3

Have you ever prayed a prayer from the belly of an emergency room or cried out from the belly of a painful relationship or a colossal business failure? If so, you’ve discovered that adversity is a spiritual pathway that brings you to God’s throne of grace. Perhaps you can relate to Jonah’s prayer from the belly of a great fish.

As a prophet, Jonah had prayed many times before, but when God told him to warn the Ninevites of impending destruction, he had run from his duty and from the Lord (see Jonah 1:3). But God was still with Jonah when the ship’s crew decided to throw him overboard (1:15). He was still with Jonah in the belly of the fish that swallowed his servant. The Lord was with him in his trouble; in fact, it was that very trouble that awakened Jonah to his great need of God. As the waters closed around Jonah, his soul fainted within him.

Buried beneath wild and stormy waves, Jonah lost all hope. But when he cried out to the Lord from that place of desperation and despair, God heard him and rescued him. Jonah’s story contains many principles, but part of its great value is to remind us that there is no place where the Lord cannot hear and respond to us. There is no pit too deep, no trouble too terrible, no situation so difficult that God cannot rescue us and restore us. When we cry out to him, he won’t reject us because our prayer doesn’t follow a certain format or isn’t prayed before the altar of a formal church. We need only to cry out to him wherever we are and in whatever “belly” we find ourselves. —CHERI

Lord, how I thank you for hearing and answering when I cry out to you in the deepest trouble, just as you did for Jonah. I am so grateful that there is no place so dark or situation so hopeless that you cannot reach me and bring about deliverance. I bless your name, for my salvation comes from you alone!

Prayer was the mighty force that brought Jonah from “The belly of hell.” . . . Prayer brought God to the rescue of unfaithful Jonah, despite his sin of fleeing from duty. God could not deny his prayer. Nothing is beyond the reach of prayer because no prayer is too hard for God to answer.

—E. M. BOUNDS (1835–1913), METHODIST MINISTER AND AUTHOR