Jonah 2:1-9

Jonah 2:1-9
English Standard Version (ESV)

  For all of Jonah's failures, this is a beautiful prayer.  Remember where we've been -- Jonah was called by God, fled in the exact opposite direction, was caught in a storm and thrown overboard, and he's just been swallowed and is in the belly of a great fish.
  And in the dark chaos, the cesspool that is his life, he calls out to God, out of his distress, and God hears Jonah's voice.  Despite the waves thundering and the despair circling, Jonah has confidence that he will, one day, look upon the holy temple of God.  Though Jonah's life seemed lost, he remembered the Lord, and hope gripped his soul, and he recalled that salvation belonged to the Lord, and no one else.
  This is the great news of the Gospel.  Salvation belongs to God, and God gives it freely.  God pours it out upon us as a gift, so that we might be blessed.  Salvation belongs to God, but God comes to us, descending from heaven, searching us out like the Good Shepherd that God is, and bringing us home, blessing us with every blessing, beyond what we can ask or imagine. 
  We all have a choice of what we can hope in.  Everyone makes that choice, some consciously, others on autopilot.  Some choose to hope in money or reputation or youth, none of which can bring salvation.  May we choose, everyday, to hope in the Lord, who alone can bring salvation, even in this current chaos, no matter how dark it may seem, God brings the light to us.