Sermon. April 11, 1999

You might think that his cry, his prayer, are no different than yours and mine when we find ourselves in one of life’s perilous situations. Suffering from the negative consequences of our sin, struggling with a medical diagnosis we don’t deserve, fighting for every breath, seeking a moment’s peace from the pressures of everyday life.

We cry out to God, what the disciples cried out to Jesus when the boat they were in was about to sink, "Save us." We cry out what the one thief cried out to Jesus from the cross, "Save us." We react like the sailors onboard the ship with Jonah reacted. They called upon their gods to be spared from perishing. When that didn’t work they called upon the Lord God saying,

"Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish..."

We pray a prayer of deliverance.

It seems rather obvious that Jonah would have been praying a prayer for deliverance, doesn’t it? However, the obvious is not always true."

Jonah IS NOT praying a prayer for deliverance. Instead from inside the belly of the whale Jonah is praying a prayer of thanksgiving.

"As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to You into Your holy temple....but I with a voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!"

Perhaps you are wondering what does Jonah have to be thankful for. He is sitting in the belly of a whale. EXACTLY! Jonah was thankful that he hadn’t drowned. The fact that Jonah prayed this prayer from the belly of the whale doesn’t change the fact that Jonah was grateful and that God delivered him. Jonah had an overwhelming sense of gratitude that God saved him. He escaped death.

Many times in my ministry I have noticed this attitude of gratitude particularly when visiting with senior citizens. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, faced with the aches and pains of aging, often stripped of some basic abilities they say, "As bad as I have it, I always thank God, remembering there is someone else in the world who is worse off than me."

You don’t hear that as often from my generation and younger generations. I think there are two reasons for that.

First, we do, what freelance writer Stephanie Payton Barrett calls, "too much window gazing." In her article, entitled "Journey to Contentment", published in the Discipleship Journal she attributes society’s lack of peace and contentment on window gazing. By window gazing she refers to our practice of gazing at someone else’s home or figure or job or children and wondering, ‘What would it be like?’ What would it be like to eat anything you want and not gain weight? What would it be like to live in a home like that? What would it be like to have all that money? What would it be like have that kind of lifestyle? What would it be like _______? You fill in the blank.

Window gazing has become as natural to our society as breathing. In the world of sports, you have professional athletes getting paid millions of dollars, wanting to renegotiate their signed contract. Why?, because some other player with similar stats just got a new and better contract.

Billions of dollars are spent by the American people on lottery tickets and in casinos. Why?, because people believe their million dollar winnings will solve all their worries.

Over and over again we wonder what would it be like... Why?, because we are disappointed and dissatisfied. Disappointed and dissatisfied with our lot in life. Perhaps you have heard someone say, "God made a mistake. I was suppose to be born to a rich family."

Such statements are meant to be humorous and window gazing seems to be harmless, but in actuality we fail to see God’s perspective on life. In short, God never guaranteed financial security or immunity from rejection in relationship or careers. God never promised success on our terms. In short, window gazing results in exactly what Jonah talks about in vs. 8,

"Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty."

Any object of desire, any object of devotion, any activity which replaces your devotion to God is a lying vanity. We deceive ourselves into thinking, If only...

The second reason for not hearing a voice of gratitude is found in vs. 7,

"As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord."

Unfortunately today we only remember the Lord when our life is ebbing away, when our life is experiencing problems and difficulties. When life is going well, we tend to take God for granted. When we lose hope. When we lose health. When we lose direction. We cry out to God for deliverance.

The consequence is an up and down spiritual life. An up and down spiritual life makes it difficult for one to trust God. Do you trust that where you are right now in your life, is where God wants you to be and that God is with you? Whether you are in the belly of the whale like Jonah or dancing on the mountain. Do you trust God and His promise that,

"that everything works for good with those who love Him."

A consistent, daily commitment to God promotes a solid relationship with God. A relationship which enables you to be thankful for what you have, who your are, to say,

with a voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you.

There is a story in the second volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul, which tells of a husband and wife. They arrived home very late from their vacation. Too tired to unpack the car, they decide the next morning would be soon enough to unpack. When morning came, they went out to start unpacking the car, their brand new car was gone. It had been stolen. T hey reported it to the police. They activated the cars anti theft tracking systems. They were told by the tracking company of the high percentage of cars found within hours.

The day unfolded and no car was found. The wife became increasingly upset as she remembered more and more of what had been in the car. Items which were of little importance to her survival, but at that moment were of major importance. Anxious and frustrated she asked her husband, "How can you joke about this when all these things and our brand new car are missing?"

He said, "Honey, we can have a stolen car and be all upset, or we can have a stolen car and be happy. Right now I choose to be happy."

Five days later the car was returned without a trace of any belongings and with $3,000 worth of damages. Within a week the car was repaired and the husband went to pick up the car. Unfortunately, on the way home he got into an accident. No one was hurt but he did another $3,000 dollars worth of damage. He was standing in the driveway looking at the car, kicking himself for hitting the other car.

When his wife came out to see what had happened she could see that he was beating himself up. She said, "Honey, we can have a wrecked car and be all upset, or we can have a wrecked car and be happy. Either way we have a wrecked car. So let’s choose to be happy.

"But I with a voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You."

Your attitude is your choice.

When you sit in the belly of the whale. You can choose to be discontented or you can choose to be thankful. Jonah chose to be thankful. After all things could have been worse. He could have drowned. Instead God delivered him from death into the belly of the whale.

What situation in your life is like the belly of the whale? What is the circumstances in your life?

Hugh Downs said, "A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."

May you have an attitude of faith and trust in God that you are right where God wants you to be. May you thank God right where you are. You might not have much, but at least you have something.

May this story be a challenge to you. May this story deliver you from your discontent with your present situation and deliver you into a daily walk with God, to a daily attitude of gratitude.

AMEN