The God of Rock Bottom
Watch or listen to
the full sermon here.
Preached by Pastor Mike Woodard
Follow The Valley Church
This Sunday, we began a new teaching series called The Gospel of Jonah. Many people know Jonah’s story as “the one with the whale,” but this short book of the Bible is about so much more. It’s the story of a man wrestling with God’s will, running from obedience, and discovering that God’s mercy always pursues—even at rock bottom.
Jonah’s Call and His Flight
In Jonah 1, God calls Jonah to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. This mission was shocking: Nineveh was the violent capital of the Assyrian Empire, known for cruelty and brutality. For Jonah, an Israelite loyal to his own people, the idea that God’s mercy could extend to such enemies was unthinkable.
So Jonah ran. Instead of heading to Nineveh, he boarded a ship for Tarshish—the opposite direction, as far from God’s call as he could imagine. Like Jonah, many of us know what it feels like to run from God’s will, whether from fear, pride, or the belief that we know better.
The Storm and the Sacrifice
Jonah’s disobedience didn’t just affect him—it endangered everyone around him. As a storm raged, sailors cried out in desperation, eventually discovering Jonah was the reason behind it all. When Jonah told them to throw him overboard to calm the storm, they reluctantly did, and the sea became still.
Here, we catch a glimpse of Jesus. Just as Jonah offered himself to save the sailors, Jesus willingly laid down His life to save us from sin and death. Unlike Jonah, Jesus did not run from His mission but fully obeyed His Father, absorbing God’s wrath on our behalf.
Mercy in the Deep
Instead of letting Jonah drown, God sent a great fish to swallow him. Far from punishment, the fish was a vessel of mercy—God’s way of rescuing Jonah when he hit rock bottom. This foreshadowed the greater mercy of Jesus, who spent three days in the grave before rising again, bringing us forgiveness and new life.
Often, God uses rock bottom moments not to destroy us, but to wake us up. He strips away our pride, breaks our illusions of control, and reminds us that His way is better. Even in our rebellion, God draws near with grace, offering rescue when we least deserve it.
What This Means for Us
Jonah’s story reminds us that we all have a little bit of Jonah in us. We resist, we disobey, and sometimes we run in the opposite direction of God’s call. Yet His mercy never runs out.
If you’re in a season that feels like rock bottom, take heart: God doesn’t let you hit the lowest place to squash you but to sober you. To teach, to refine, and to show you that He is still with you. He is the God who rescues, restores, and redeems—even in the belly of the fish.