The Daily + Midweek Updates!

We can learn a lesson about the surprising mercy of God through Jonah.

“For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me” (Jonah 2:3).

Photo by Jamie Morrison on Unsplash

Jonah didn’t blame the sailors for throwing him overboard. From the belly of the fish, he looked back and said to God, “You cast me into the deep.” That’s a powerful realization. He saw past human hands and recognized the hand of God at work. But it didn’t feel like mercy at first. It felt like drowning. Jonah was literally in over his head.

Sometimes our own folly brings us low. But even then, the kindness of God shows up, often wrapped in unassuming packages. When Jonah was asleep to spiritual reality, when nothing else would wake him, God used a storm, a sea, and a fish to break through. Why? Not to destroy him, but to awaken him. The mercy of God came through disruption. And only then did Jonah pray.

Pain has a way of revealing what ease often hides. We don’t usually cry out for mercy when we think we’re doing fine. But when we’re brought low, when we feel the limits of our strength, that’s when we begin to see how much we need grace.

Jonah’s testimony becomes a pattern for our own. Mercy doesn’t always arrive in obvious ways, but it is mercy all the same. God was not punishing Jonah—he was rescuing him! And through Christ, we can see this even more clearly. In Jesus, we see how lowliness and calamity worked together for our salvation. God, in Christ, accomplished His greatest work of redemption at the lowest point, so we can trust him with our lives today.

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MIDWEEK UPDATES

• RESOURCES - Want to stay up to date on Immanuel’s teaching ministry? Whether you missed a Sunday or need a midweek word of encouragement, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest!

• PRAYER - As we continue our series on prayer, join us for two opportunities to seek the Lord together: every Friday at 6:00 a.m. in the Café and this Sunday, July 20, immediately after the 9 am service for a monthly Outreach Prayer meeting in the staff office area. Let’s ask together that God’s kingdom come and His will be done—in our church, our city, and beyond.

MIDWEEK UPDATES

• MARRIAGE FOUNDATIONS SEMINAR - If you are considering marriage, engaged, or are young in your marriage, join us for our next Marriage Foundations Seminar. The seminar will take place on Saturday, August 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the café. Lunch will be provided. Register here.

• SAVE THE DATE: MEN’S RETREAT & WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

  

  This fall, make space to grow in gospel friendship and renewal. The Men’s Retreat is coming up on October 3–4 at Coldstream Christian Camp. The speaker is our very own Dr. Tom Cox. The women’s Conference is scheduled for November 7–8 at Immanuel Church. The speaker is Nancy Guthrie. More details and registration information will be available soon.