God’s plan for His glory and the good of His people will not be thwarted, diverted, changed, or cancelled! God’s will, in the end, is triumphant! That message is central to the book of Jonah.
God’s will triumphs over man’s will. It was God’s will for Jonah to go to Ninevah and call them to repentance. Jonah does everything in his power to avoid God’s will. He wills against God’s will, and by chapter 3, Jonah is standing in Ninevah calling them to repentance! Notice the lengths to which God will go in order to bend man’s will back to God’s will and accomplish His purpose. He sends a great storm and a great fish! The sooner we learn this lesson the better, our wills are not the center of the universe!
God’s will is not just for His plan but for His man! It is a good thing that God’s will triumphs over us because God’s will is not just for His glory but for our good. Our willing against God’s will can never be for our good or His glory! We are so self-absorbed that at first glance, we harshly reject the notion of God’s will bringing our will into subjection. But on further, closer observation we come to realize how infinitely better for us that God’s will wins the day!
God is not just after Ninevah; God is after Jonah! The great storm and the great fish are the best things that could have happened to Jonah! The worse thing that could have happened would be for Jonah to flee to Tarshish, go his merry way, and never be bothered! But no! God will have His way and His man, and thus Jonah 2 is a prayer of repentance! God’s will triumphed over Jonah’s will, and thanks be to God, it has triumphed over ours as well!
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