Stuck in the Mud
Jonah 2:6 But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. What pit was Jonah referring? The belly of the great fish or the spiritual condition that led to the belly of the fish? Jonah 2:6 echoes Psalm 40:2. Psalm 40:2 states: He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. What is miry clay? muddy, boggy or swampy soil conditions; deep, wet, sticky earth that is difficult to move through; damp, and squishy earth; wet spongy earth that is difficult to navigate or escape.
Once Jackie and I were spending time with some good friends, Mark and Valerie Nelson, on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. Valeries Dad took us out in his boat to check on his crab pots near some of the marshy areas in the bay. Unfortunately we became stuck in the shallows and there was only one solution to getting unstuck. Get out of the boat and push it into deeper water. Thankfully Mark had the presence of mind to recommend we remove our flip flops before plunging over the side of the boat. Why was that a good thing? When we jumped out of the boat we sunk knee deep in slimy, squishy, stinky mud. The flip flops would have become a permanent possession of what the Psalmist referred to as miry clay. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing miry clay you know that it is difficult to walk and navigate through. (As the Nelsons and the Shaws soon discovered). For you see we had to lift our knees near our chests to simply get them unstuck from the muck (and oh, how delightful we smelled). Each step required considerable effort and after several steps we dislodged the boat.
Why do we need to seek God? Life’s circumstances quickly lead us to being swallowed up in its’ grip causing our lives to begin to stink with the miry clay of this world system. Like Jonah, the big fish of life begins swallowing us whole, digesting, and reducing our lives to a living waste.
Initially, it seemed strange to discover that at the height of Jewish repentance their go-to book in the Bible was, and still is, Jonah. It was strange until I began meditating realizing that I too had been swallowed by a great fish. That I too had become stuck in a pit, and in the miry clay of the Babylonian, Jezebel world system. It had taken its toll. The awareness of my spiritual plight grew as I prayed Jonah’s prayer. As I prayed my mind protested, How does this apply to me? I’m not like Jonah. I haven’t run from what God commanded me to do. I’ve not jumped ship, gone AWOL, or UA from my responsibilities. I’m not derelict in my duty, nor have I deserted my post. All of that sounded good till the Lord broke through my protest asking, What are you standing on Robert? Are you standing in humility, and obedience? Are you fighting the good fight of faith? Is your life marked by a constant changing of your thoughts to conform to My Word and the Spirit? Has your love for the lost and prodigals become like Jonah’s? If you love Me why don’t you obey Me without question? (For obedience is Jesus’ love language) When was the last time prayer wasn’t a chore or labor?
After the smoke cleared from the fires of my conviction I realized that the book of Jonah was indeed a great guide for leading us to repentance. Yesterday’s blog asked, How do we go about seeking the Lord? Today revealed part of the answer. Humble yourself. Humble yourself admitting you have need of Jesus and you have not arrived in all that you have ascertained of Him.
