Day 29: Jonah 2:3-4, 8-10

Even so, I will look to the Lord again.

We tend to resist the difficult realities given to us, often expressing it through complaints and resentment.  However, if we can find God's blessings even in the midst of accepting those challenging realities, we can truly say that person is a blessed believer.  Jonah the prophet is considered to be one of such individuals.  The reality he faced was that he was on the verge of life and death physically, and spiritually, he felt cast away from God, experiencing the weariness of soul.

However, even in such circumstances, Jonah resolved, "Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple" (Jonah 2:4), looking to the Creator God, who is greater than "the deep" and its "billows" (v. 3).   Through this, he came to realize the grace God bestowed upon him (v. 8), and he was reaffirmed in his calling as a worshiper (v. 9).  He was reborn not as a complainer or a grumbler, but as a thankful person (v. 9), and further, he ultimately experienced salvation (v. 10) with confidence in God's deliverance (v. 9).

Like Jonah, may we also look to the Lord again in the midst of difficult realities, so that we may enjoy the blessings God has prepared for us.