Jonah 2:2-3

And from the belly of the sea creature, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God, and said:
“I cried out in my affliction to the Lord, my God,
And He heard my voice;
Out of the belly of Hades, You heard the cry of my voice.”

Encouraging Words

God is everywhere, even in the belly of Hades. He is in the midst of our trials and tribulations. He is in the midst of our joys. He is in the midst of our questionings and our understandings. There is no place or state that we can be in where He will not hear our voice when we call out to Him. And when He hears our voice, we are with Him. Glory be to God!

Joel 2:17-18

Between the porch and the altar, the priests of the altar, ministering to the Lord, will each be weeping and will say, “O Lord, spare Your people; do not give Your inheritance to reproach, that the Gentiles should rule over them, lest they should say among the Gentiles, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

But the Lord was zealous for His land and spared His people.

Encouraging Words

We have a great High Priest who is standing on the porch between death and life. It is the death of this earthly, temporal life that we are all bound by and the eternal life that is made manifest by our Lord Jesus Christ that He is standing between. It is through Him that we receive life. It is also Him that is the great Intercessor for us. Glory be to God!

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge

It is the state of our hearts that is important to God. Even though our faith practice calls upon us to fast, pray, worship, and do other things in our lives in order to develop godly habits and disciplines, it is most important to discipline our hearts. God has told us through the scriptures and through the Living Word, Jesus, that God looks at the hearts of men and not their outward appearances and actions. God wants us to turn to Him with our whole heart and to have our actions, all of them, flow from that heart that belongs to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Micah 7:7

But I will look to the Lord. I will wait for God my Savior, for my God will hear me.

Encouraging Words

Sometimes life can be tough. For some people, life feels like it is always tough. No matter whether we are in good times or in those rough times, we can always look to the Lord knowing that He will hear us. This gives us what we need to navigate these tough times and relish the good. Glory be to God!

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good. Or what does the Lord seek from you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk with the Lord your God?

Personal Challenge

Throughout history, people have asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” we have it wired within us that we have been separated from our creator and that we need to be saved from the grip that death has upon us. So, what must we do to be saved? It is not about what we do, but about Who we proclaim as our Savior. He has been revealed to us, so we have no excuse. We grab hold of Him and do not let go. Then the doing follows that because we love Him and want to show our gratitude to Him. He wants us to live just lives, to love mercy, and to walk in His ways. Glory be to God!

Hosea 13:14

“I will deliver them out of the hand of Hades
And will redeem them from death.
Where is your penalty, O death?
O Hades, where is your sting?
Pity is hidden from My eyes.”