[Scripture: Jonah 2:1-10]
Introduction
The Bible is a book full of information about how God created humanity and what kind of material He used when He formed us. I have a funny story but it provides a biblical clue for the question of why women are always right and win most of the time when they argue with their husbands about anything.
If you're wondering why we, I mean guys, often find ourselves on the losing side, it's worth taking a closer look at how God created Adam and Eve. When God formed man, He used dirt and shaped it. Man’s primary material was dirt, and he was made from it. So, man's body is like pottery. However, God favored woman, so He used a bone as the main material when He formed woman. Women are made like bone China. Bone China is stronger than pottery.
Biblical stories also offer a wealth of spiritual guidance for leading a better and more meaningful life, as well as for navigating through times of spiritual darkness. The meaning of darkness in this context is the sense of being trapped in unwanted circumstances without knowing how to escape. Jonah knew he was in trouble but he did not know how to get out of it.
Story of Jonah
The story of Jonah in the Bible, specifically Jonah chapter 2, we read that he was in the belly of big fish and tried to find the way out. I will interpret this situation as spiritual perspective. I will use this story as a metaphor for finding a way out from challenging situations and spiritual darkness. In this chapter, Jonah ends up inside the belly of a great fish after running away from God's command. While he's in this tough spot, Jonah offers a heartfelt prayer of repentance and recommits himself to God to find a way out from the darkness that has surrounded his soul and life. This is how the story can be understood as Jonah tried to find a way out of his spiritual darkness.
The story of Jonah provides Christians with careful spiritual guidance on how to come out of darkness.
Here are Four steps that Jonah took to overcome his situation.
- Verse 2, Acknowledgment of the Situation: Jonah begins by acknowledging his actual circumstances. He recognizes that he is in the depths of the grave," which means he is in a dark and difficult place.
- In Verse 4, Repentance: Jonah reflects on his disobedience to God's command and admits his mistakes.
- Verse 7, Renewed Commitment: Jonah tried to praise and worship God, and He expresses a desire to turn back to God and fulfill God's will.
- Verse 9, Hope and faith: Despite his circumstances, Jonah expresses hope and trust in God's ability to rescue him. He believes that God will answer his prayer and bring him out of the darkness.
Jonah prayed and repented, he pledged to follow God's will. Afterward, God had the fish spit Jonah onto dry land, rescuing him from darkness.
The story of Jonah is a prime biblical example of how God guides people through challenging moments, helping them find the way to live their meaningful lives and enjoy them.
Dark Night of the Soul
The darkness that Jonah experienced inside the belly of the fish wasn't only about his physical location but also mirrored his spiritual condition. God allowed Jonah to experience spiritual darkness. It was God's plan for Jonah's spiritual growth.
The theologian Richard Foster discusses this in his book 'Celebration of Discipline.' He mentions that God allows Christians to go through a spiritual dark night to nurture their maturity. The term 'spiritual dark night' refers to a state of Christian spiritual loneliness and dryness in our spiritual journey. It encompasses feelings of spiritual emptiness, a sense of being abandoned by God, hopelessness for the future, and a surge of negative emotions.
Foster suggested that when going through a dark night experience, we should focus on inner spiritual disciplines, like meditating on the Word and praying. These spiritual practices assist individuals in accessing God's power to experience life-changing processes that God initiates within us.
Darkness spit Jonah out
I want to share with you why the big fish spit out Jonah on the dry land. The big fish did not have any authority and ability to hold and destroy Jonah because Jonah was a person of God. Only, God has the authority for Christian. The fish could not digest Jonah because God’s protection was surrounding him even though he was in the darkness. The light of God agitated the fish stomach to spit Jonah out.
In the same way, Jesus was in the tomb. It was in complete darkness, but it could not hold Jesus anymore because he was full of light. So, the darkness spit Jesus out from the tomb.
Just as the fish spit out Jonah, 1 John 1:5-7 tells us how the darkness will spit us out when we experience the dark night of soul. “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all… we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
Walking in the light means having a meaningful relationship with God and sharing authentic fellowship with Christians in the church. Apostle John strongly suggests us to walk in the light because the light gives us vision. The light gives us direction. The light helps us overcome the danger of darkness.
Spiritual and Physical Vulnerability
Spiritual crisis can happen to Christians when we're spiritually or physically vulnerable. When I was studying in Cincinnati for undergrad, my auto insurance got canceled because I missed a payment. Unfortunately, I crashed my car on the highway. It was my first accident in my entire driving record in the States. Before that accident, when I paid around $150 dollars every month, I felt like I was wasting money. However, when I found myself in trouble on the highway, I realized the importance of insurance payments. Because they came to my aid when I got into trouble. Similarly, for Christians, sometimes we could feel that maintaining spiritual practices might not immediately appear essential for maintaining their Christian identity. Nevertheless, these practices can serve as a protective refuge when we encounter difficulties.
Conclusion
Two things are necessary to escape our unwanted spiritual dryness and discover the way out of experiencing spiritual darkness. First, it requires the painful realization of our current spiritual condition. The other one is honest self-reflection, which is needed to assess the state of our spirit and learn how to make improvements.
We like the benefits of changing more than we like the process of it. However, all change begins with the painful realization of our spiritual condition and by engaging in Christian reflection, renewing our commitment to God, and persistently maintaining hope and faith in the promises of Jesus Christ.
These spiritual practices are what Jonah engaged in when he found himself in darkness; after that, the darkness spit him out. In the same way, let's adopt these same practices in our Christian life to make the darkness not swallow us but spit us into the light of God.
@ 08.27.2023 Pastor Cloud Poy
