Daily Encouragement: Seeing God's Hand

More thoughts on the book of Jonah....

"Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights." (Jonah 1:17)

Where could he go? What could he possibly do? He certainly didn't have his iphone to check his e-mail, get on Facebook, or play Angry Birds now did he? He couldn't even call a friend to share what an awful predicament he was in. Nope. He was all alone--except for God.

"Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish." (Jonah 2:1)

This wasn't one of those, "If you get me out of here I'll serve you all my life" kind of prayers that people say when they want to try to bribe God into rescuing them or a loved one. It went like this...."I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!....When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord....For my salvation comes from the Lord alone." (Jonah 2:2,7,9b)

This was a prayer of thankfulness for God rescuing him from drowning by sending a fish to swallow him--even though he did not know what would come next!

We see throughout this book that Jonah has some issues with God, but this prayer shows a grateful heart, one that can see the hand of God in his own life. Even when he was in dire straits--he saw how God kept him alive.

So what is your predicament? What is your attitude toward God--is it desperate for deliverance only, or is it grateful for His salvation from a fate worse than what you are currently experiencing?

"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand." (Philippians 4:6-7)

I encourage you today to look for God's hand in your life, step back and see the bigger picture, and thank him today for all he has done.


by Wendie Beddingfield