I sank beneath the waves,
    and the waters closed over me.
    Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
    I was imprisoned in the earth,
    whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God,
    snatched me from the jaws of death!

Jonah 2:5-6

BUT GOD…

Ok friends, I think I’m stuck on the phrase “but God”. It started yesterday with Romans 5:8 (make sure you check it out if you missed it) and today I’m rolling on with Jonah 2:5-6.

Jonah, the man my church kiddos know as the “pouting prophet” – you know, ‘cuz he preached a sermon to Nineveh about repentance, climbed a hill to watch God blast them to tiny pieces, and then pouted under a tree when the people repented as God had commanded and God spared them as He had promised (Jonah 3 and 4).

But that wasn’t Jonah’s only low point in life. In Jonah 2, we find Jonah in the belly of a great fish.

Why?

Because he was pouting about where God told him to go (granted Nineveh was a really horrible place) and he attempted to take a ship elsewhere – landing himself in a God-given timeout inside in the belly of a great fish.

As we examine Jonah 2:5 we see that Jonah recognizes his perilous position – his disobedience has landed him deep in the ocean, deeper even than the roots of the mountains. He knows that on his own, he’s a goner – he says that gates of the earth have locked him in which makes me think of the grave.

When all hope seems lost for our friend the pouting prophet, we read verse 6:

But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!

Sweet friend, there’s a reason fictional writers adopted the phrase “belly of the whale” to tell of the most harrowing part of a hero’s journey. It’s because there’s nowhere lower you can be, except dead in the grave.

And in our natural state as sinners, where are we but destined for the grave? Without God, we, like Jonah, are facing an eternity in the depths of hell, imprisoned forever.

BUT O LORD, MY GOD…

Beloved, my God and your God, has snatched us from the jaws of death!

Through the birth, sacrifice, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God has made a way for us to escape death (John 3:16; Romans 10:13)!

The next time you’re feeling low, remember – BUT GOD – and know that He has snatched you from the jaws of death (Jonah 2:6) and He has saved you from condemnation (Romans 5:6-11).

I can’t wait to share more “but God” moments with you throughout the week! Have a blessed day friend!

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