Devotion Booklets for Seasons of the Church Year Lent 2019 | Seite 52

Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Salvation Comes from the Lord
Jonah 2:9
Getting thrown off a boat into the sea would put a damper on your day. Getting swallowed by a fish after
getting thrown overboard would make your day even worse. You might not feel like singing praises to God at
that moment. However, the prophet Jonah thanked and praised God as he lay in the cramped, slimy, smelly
stomach of a fish. He realized that God had saved him from drowning at sea. More than that, Jonah realized that
God had decided to spare him even after he ran away from his calling.
As Jonah lay inside the nasty stomach of that fish, he was he was already making plans for the future. In verse 4
he says, “I will look again toward your holy temple.” In verse 9 he says, “I, with shouts of grateful praise, will
sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good.” What made Jonah so optimistic? What made him already
start planning for the future?
Jonah trusted that God saved him from the sea because God is gracious. He trusted in the God who saves him
from when God wasn’t first in his own heart. And the God who saved him from sin, death, and despair saved
him to serve in his original calling. And now the rebellious prophet was motivated to take up his calling and
bring God’s message to the city of Nineveh.
The salvation that comes from our Lord allows us to have an optimism no matter what situation we find
ourselves in. We know the Lord has already saved us from the worst threats we face. He entered Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday, knowing that he would face hatred, unfairness, murder, and, worse yet, hell. Our sin has been
buried in the tomb with Christ. Death has been swallowed up in victory. A heavenly mansion is waiting for us
in God’s presence in heaven. We get to plan for a future with the Lord who saved us.
Like Jonah, we are also motivated into action by the Lord’s salvation. We take up our individual callings in life
to serve our Lord and love our neighbor. We take up our most important calling as we share the good news of
Jesus with those walking in darkness. We join Jonah in shouting our grateful praise. Salvation comes from the
Lord!
PRAYER: Dear Lord, our salvation comes from you. You give us optimism for this life and hope for a future
life with you. Allow your salvation to motivate us in living our callings to your glory. Amen.
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