5. For Focusing to Regain Hope

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“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.” Jonah 2:7

The familiar story of Jonah has astounded kids for generations. A man surviving being swallowed by a whale? What a miracle! Many of us remember reading a book or listening to a Sunday school teacher share Jonah’s story. But Jonah’s prayer from inside the whale can inspire us with renewed hope as women, too.

We’re hard-pressed to find any good news lately. Disease, grief, loss, turmoil. We try our best to do good, love others, and walk humbly. But listening to what’s happening in our world can send us into despair and hopelessness.

Jonah’s prayer shows us that hope is ours, even in our most desperate times. “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me” (Jonah 2:1). Deep waters threatened to engulf him, but he remembered God. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple” (Jonah 2:7).

Let’s allow Jonah’s prayer to inspire us toward new hope. Do you feel hope slipping away? Do current circumstances leave you wondering if your efforts are worth it? Jesus Christ is hope, and with Him we have reason to never give up.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

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