“No human heart will learn its sinfulness and impotence by being told it is sinful. It will have to be shown—often through brutal experience. No human heart will dare to believe in such free, costly grace unless it is the only hope. It is a combination of hard circumstances, insight from the biblical gospel of atonement for sin, and prevailing prayer that can move us to wonder and amazement, even in the darkest, deepest places.” — Tim Keller
Part One: The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah up and save him from drowning.
PART TWO: Jonah prayed to the Lord from the belly of the fish.
“God’s answer is what faith confidently expects in his distress, and it is not disappointed.” —John MacKay
“His distress caused hope to increase, not diminish. His affliction became a source of good to him, as he realized that the Lord had intervened to rescue him, and that he could be confident that this meant there was a future role for him.” —John MacKay
“It is only when you reach the very bottom, when everything falls apart, when all your schemes and resources are broken and exhausted, that you are finally open to learning how to completely depend on God. As is often said, you never realize that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” —Tim Keller
PART THREE: The fish vomited Jonah out on dry land.