Jonah and “Free Will”

In ministering to women of all ages day in and day out, there are several questions I've heard repeatedly. For instance, several have asked what God does when man’s “free will” goes against the will of God. Will God intrude on someone’s “free will” in order that His will be done?

This is a good question, one that we can learn much about in the Word of God. Here are some scriptures that give us an idea of what God thinks of man’s “free will”:

"In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps."
-Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
-Proverbs 19:21

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord."
-Proverbs 21:30

Have you considered Jonah? Let me share something about Jonah that might help to answer this question in a way that gives us even more evidence of God’s prevailing will and purposes in the heart of mankind.

God sent the prophet Jonah to Nineveh to preach judgment to the people there. These weren’t just ungodly people; they were violent and committed shameful atrocities on the people. I won’t go into details, but Nineveh’s king Ashurbanipal was one of the most violent kings in history and he boasted of his evils. He was indeed a scary man. This is why Jonah didn’t want to go there … he feared for his life. He probably wouldn’t have refused to go if it would have been just a matter of being shot with an arrow or put into jail, but the horrendous atrocities this government inflicted on people was truly something to fear. Hence, Jonah disobeyed God.

The other reason behind Jonah’s disobedience had to do with his understanding God’s reason for sending him there … he knew God wanted to forgive the people in Nineveh—it’s why God sent him to preach repentance to the people. Jonah hated the Ninevites because of what they had done to so many. He didn’t want to be a vessel of restoration or forgiveness. He would rather see them die and spend eternity in hell-fire.

You know the story, in fleeing to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, Jonah went down to Joppa and found a ship. He paid the fare and boarded the ship and off he went.

NOTE
* God’s will was that Jonah go to Nineveh to preach judgment on the people.
* Jonah’s will was to disobey God and run from Him, run from responsibility, and run from his calling.

While on the ship, the waters began to rage and the ship was endangered because the prophet of God was aboard. Jonah knew he was in rebellion – he even told the people he was fleeing from the presence of God.

Jonah 1:10 ~ This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

Not only was Tarshish not God’s plan for Jonah, it was COMPLETELY in the opposite direction. It was deliberate! In order for Jonah to find a ship bound for Tarshish, he had to travel about 60 miles. Tarshish was located 2,000 miles from Joppa! Jonah ran as far as he could go from the divine commission the Lord had given him.

Twice it is mentioned in verse 3 alone that Jonah tried to do the impossible thing – fleeing from God.

Jonah 1:3 ~ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

But get this … Jonah fled KNOWING he was doing wrong! He knew that if he had obeyed, the people would repent and God would have had mercy on Nineveh. He didn’t want that – Jonah wanted the people of Nineveh to perish because of the horrible things they’d done.

Jonah 4:2 ~ “…That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”

Jonah knew God’s grace and compassion, His character of being “slow to anger and abounding in love”.

But he soon learned that his own ideas and plans – his own will was no match for God’s. God wasn’t going to allow him to simply flee from his responsibility. God made life pretty uncomfortable for Jonah.

Jonah’s reaction to God’s call is remarkable! We might say, “how dare he refuse the call of God and run like he did!” But don’t we essentially do the same thing each time we disobey by doing what WE want to do rather than what God purposes for us?

NOTE
*God did NOT intervene to prevent Jonah from doing his own thing. He didn’t prevent Jonah from paying the fare, boarding the ship, and heading for Tarshish; he allowed Jonah to act on his own will, making his own decisions.
*God is gracious to disobedient servants and He will let them make decisions that go against His will.

The circumstances we face in life are often like what we see happening in Jonah. God’s will is one thing, man’s will is another.

But, the good news is that if God could change Jonah’s mind through some pretty horrible circumstances, then God can do the same in our situations.

Just because we see people going against God’s will and doing horrible things or rebelling against God’s authority, doesn’t mean that God’s will is then foiled and God Himself is suddenly at the mercy of man’s “free will”. NEVER!

God is no respecter of persons and what He does for one, He’ll do for another.

God won’t sit idly by and allow His plan to be interrupted by the schemes and manipulations of man. What He determines will be done will indeed be done. He is NEVER at man’s mercy. Man is at HIS mercy!

Think about this the next time you decide to choose your own will over God’s. Think about Jonah when God calls you to give and you decide to keep. Remember Jonah when God sends you to minister to the sick or the imprisoned and you sit on your couch and read a book. Don’t forget Jonah when God calls you to teach or to work in the nursery or to scrub toilets and you decide that’s not what you really want to do.

We might get away with running from God for a season. But eventually we’ll find ourselves in the murk and mire of a fish’s belly. And, getting out of the mess we’ve created by our rebellion and disobedience isn’t easy – think of Jonah being expelled onto dry ground … you can only out of a fish’s belly one of two ways and neither one is a pretty picture!

It’s not worth running from God. It’s not worth demanding our own will when we know God has shown us His will. God will indeed have His way and His sovereign will WILL be done! We can choose to do it His way the first time and be blessed or do it our way and share in Jonah’s experience.

What about you? I choose to do God’s will … in His time according to His purposes that He might be glorified. Remember, delay in responding to God’s will is no different than disobedience. When God calls, go, do, and enjoy His incredible blessings!

When our will conflicts with God's will, it is not a question of who will win, it's just a question of how long we're going to fight the outcome.

© Jan Ross 2007