Rerouting
July 27, 2024

The Strange Ways of God’s Grace

Main Point: God constantly extends grace to us in various ways; we need toperceive
it and receive it.

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said: In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths,into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ —Jonah 2:1-10

The engulfing waters threatened me,the deep surrounded me;seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.
—Jonah 2:1-10 (cont.)

Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. —Jonah 2:1-10 (cont.)

Grace Points

1.“The Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah” (Jonah 1:17)
- God’s grace may come to us in unexpected ways

2.“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me” (Jonah 2:1-2)
- Because God is gracious, He is not deaf to our pleas for mercy

3.“You hurled me into the depths…” (Jonah 2:3-5)
- Because God is gracious, He may allow us to experience difficult things

4.“But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit” (Jonah 2:6-7)
- Because God is gracious, He wants to save us from miserable places

5.“The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (Jonah 2:8-10)
- Because God is gracious, He gives us additional opportunities to respond to His grace

The grace of God shown to Jonah points us to the greatest expression of God’s grace: His Son Jesus

Takeaway: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Discussion Questions

  1. Do you agree with the idea that God may show His grace to us by allowing us to experience difficult things? Has that happened to you? How did God work through that for your good?

  2. When we are in trouble, we may think that God is not listening to our prayers for help. What does Jonah 2 say to us about that? How do you make sense of those times it seems God is silent?

  3. How has God shown His grace to you by giving you additional opportunities to respond to His grace?

  4. What similarities and differences can you find in the account of Jonah and that of Jesus? How is Jesus greater than Jonah? (Luke 11:32)

  5. Can you think of a time when God showed His grace (His undeserved favor or love) to you in an unusual way?

Table Discussion Question: How has God shown His grace to you at a time when you were in some kind of trouble?