Scripture: Jonah 2:1-2 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.”
Devotion: “Mama!” Every so often, in the middle of the night, I abruptly wake up to my toddler yelling for me. Sometimes he needs to be covered up again, sometimes he asks me to rub his back, and sometimes he has lost a sock or slipper in the night. Whatever the reason that he woke up, he needs my help to go back to sleep. He cries out for me. And if for some reason I don’t respond right away, he becomes more and more anxious, frantically calling out for me to come and help him. With each moment that passes that he hasn’t heard from me, he becomes more worried. This is because he knows and trusts that I am there and will respond.
And if my toddler can rely on me in that way, how much more should I rely on God in that way? When I am in a time of distress (presumably a much bigger deal than losing a sock), I can count on God to be there. And even in the moments when I am worried about something as small as a sock, He is also there.
Jonah recognized this. “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.” (Jonah 2:2). He saw that the Lord was there and heard Him. He responded to Jonah. The Lord did not leave him to suffer in silence. No, God was present because He loved Jonah and would never forsake him. The same is true for you and me. We have a God who loves us with an unending love that is not shaken by changing circumstances. Our God is always there, and He wants to hear from us in every situation.
I can’t even count the number of times that I turn to my husband, my family, my friends, or even the internet with my issues, only to realize a bit later that I haven’t even taken it to my Heavenly Father. 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” He cares for you and me. He wants to carry our burdens for us. We have the ability to communicate directly with Him through prayer and He wants to meet with us. And we can know that in approaching Him, He will be there. His track record with it is 100%, and He won’t fail now.
Reflect:
- Knowing that God is always there and is ready to hear from you, what do you want to tell Him or ask Him?