For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’

                                                                                                                   Jonah 2:3-4 

Jonah moves from thanksgiving to God for His deliverance to a reflection on the dire situation in which he found himself. He was tossed overboard during a great storm facing certain death. In this moment there was no time for lamenting his decision to run. Neither was it time to wonder “what if.” He was literally faced with a life and death situation and did the only logical thing any of us could do; call on God for help. Regardless of his circumstances, he was able to say, “Nevertheless, I will look again toward God.”

The attitude of Jonah’s heart is echoed in the Psalmist’s declaration of God’s goodness during a similar situation. Take some time and savor the words from this great Psalm: 

I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. The cords of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

                                                                                                                 Psalm 116:1-4 

He goes on to describe God and His goodness: 

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

                                                                                                                 Psalm 116:5-8 

In difficult times, we are reminded from Jonah and the Psalmist to seek the face of the Lord for help, deliverance, and comfort. But Christians have so much more to celebrate. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on our performance through the Law. This is truly liberating because it frees us to move forward in our walk with Christ regardless of our failures and weaknesses. Consider the words of Paul: 

…and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith…

                                                                                                                 Philippians 3:9 

Righteousness comes to us on the basis of our faith in Jesus and what He has accomplished on the cross. This truth allows us to respond in the middle of failure and weaknesses, “Nevertheless, I will look again toward God.”

Every morning brings new opportunities to grow, serve, and strengthen our faith. As God continues to deal bountifully with us with the perfect grace and compassion that only He can give, we can stand victorious over misguided thoughts, arguments, and philosophies designed only to trap and limit our walk with Christ.

Would you stand in your present situation and declare, “Nevertheless, I will look again toward God?” It will be the best decision you will ever make!