The Sovereignty of God

I was reading in Jonah this morning and in the commentary, the main theme was not only Gods mercy and grace but His soverign control over His creation to bring about His purpose. SOVERIGN CONTROL TO BRING ABOUT HIS PURPOSES. You mean I can focus more on God and less on fighting the devil? You mean that I can REST and FULLY TRUST in Jesus? In case you don’t know the story, here is a short background.

The Lord gave Jonah a word to take to Nineveh to tell them to judgment was coming if they didn’t repent. He didn’t want to go because he thought they wouldn’t change. He was disobedient and went in the opposite direction on a boat. the Bible says the Lord created a storm, and the sailers threw Jonah overboard to save their own lives. Then a large fish swallowed Jonah. My bible commentary reads that the Lord had prepared (destined) a great fish for Jonah which swallowed him for protection, not punishment. Jonah had to call on the Lord to rescue him, and after 3 days the fish spat him up on dry land. Jonah went to Nineveh, preached that judgment was coming and they would be overthrown. The people repented, and then God had mercy on them and did not bring the disaster upon the land.

After this, Jonah was mad that God didn’t judge the people. The Lord also prepared a plant to grow over Jonah to keep him in the shade and prevent discomfort, despite his bad attitude. Then God prepared a worm, which attacked the plant and the plant withered. Jonah had so much compassion for the plant but for his own selfish motives. He had more compassion for a plant that served his own purposes than for the many people who needed the mercy of God. My bible commentary says “The same word used to describe Jonah’s feelings toward the plant in chapter 4 verse 10 is used for God’s feeling toward the people of Nineveh. People are of more value than animals and animals of more value than plants, but the Lord has a concern that extends to all of His creation.” (Amplified Bible, Zondervan, p 1463).

We can be rest assured that even in the “bad” things that happen to us, the Lord allows or creates by His soverign Hand for a PURPOSE. This revelation has given me a new sense of freedom. I always thought Jonah was swallowed by the fish as punishment instead of protection. So, since God is ultimately and truly soverign over His creation, we can rest assured that even the things that look bad or not ideal on the surface are ultimately going to work out for our good. There have been decisions which have been made where I’ve thought “well did God really say?” and wondering if the right decision was made because there is discomfort or it doesn’t look how we thought. This happened to my husband and I shortly after we moved to South Carolina. There were some faith gaps and circumstances that arose and in the discomfort and the stretching we thought “did we make a mistake?” Sure, we are responsible for praying, seeking God, and obeying His voice. We did this. But we still feared we did the wrong thing. We missed our comfort, two incomes, our dream home, our friends (which are all carnal things, by the way). Let me say this, if God can re-route Jonah after his disobedience, protect him in the process, and still get him to Nineveh and His ultimate purpose still happened, how much more will God do this for us? We can be rest in the fact we are in His will when we pray, seek Him and attempt to walk in obedience. 

The second part of this was Jonah’s unmerciful attitude and judgment toward the people of Nineveh when God decided to ultimately not judge them after they repented.  I can relate. There are relationships in my life where bitterness and resentment have grown. Like Jonah, I have been holding judgments against people for their actions and the effect it has had on others, especially when it indirectly affects me.  Like Jonah, I have a hardness toward them without compassion or mercy like the Lord wants me to have. This is a rebellious attitude and instead of wishing things had been different I can embrace how suffering, hard times, and the faith gap has thrown me to the foot of the cross.

I’m working through this bitterness, because let’s face it, bitterness stems from some sort of pain. I’m not saying I have it perfectly, but now I’m much more aware of it and I’m in the process of working this out. Because God ultimately has control over all of His creation to fulfill His purposes,  I don’t have to be mad, or sad, or bitter because I have to trust God that God is using the VERY things that I resent to catapult myself and my family into purpose. One time in prayer the Holy Spirit whispered to me to not hold people hostage for what they have done because it is serving a purpose. It’s part of an ultimate plan; something way bigger than me. Through seasons of pain, this hasn’t been something I’ve been able to easily surrender. Isn’t it like God to use the things I dislike and that sanctifies me for a bigger purpose and His glory?