DIG DEEPER
WHEN YOU’VE REACHED THE END OF YOURSELF…
Jonah 2 is what it sounds like when a person has run out of options.
No more pretending. No more controlling. No more escape routes.
Some of us hate that place. We want to be self-sufficient. We want to fix ourselves, improve ourselves, distract ourselves, and rescue ourselves. Our society, and the messages it conveys speak strongly to this kind of self-sufficiency. But SALVATION never comes from self-rescue. Jonah’s prayer from the depths of the fish reminds us that DEEP SALVATION begins when we finally stop pretending we are our own saviour.
That is why idols are so dangerous. An idol is not just a statue. It is anything we quietly look to and say: if I just had this, I’d be okay. Popularity, achievement, romance, control, comfort, approval, image, success, even ministry can become an idol if we use it to feed our identity and to feel important.
But idols cannot save. They only demand more.
A REAL LIFE PICTURE…
Imagine being caught in a rip at the beach. Panic tells you to swim harder. Wisdom tells you to stop fighting the wrong way, and call out for help. A lot of us are spiritually “swimming harder”. We are exhausted because we keep trying to save ourselves with things that cannot rescue us.
REFLECT…
- Where are you still trying to be your own saviour?
- What do you instinctively run to when you feel empty, anxious or ashamed?
- What ‘idol’ promises life to you but under-delivers and leaves you more drained?
- Have you reached the point where you know you cannot fix yourself?
TRY THIS…
Write the following honestly before God:
THE THING I MOST OFTEN TRUST TO SAVE ME IS…
Then underneath it write:
SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD
