Storms and Worms: Awe at God’s Sweet Sovereignty
The sovereignty of God is a warm blanket to my soul.
Amidst the cold, hard, bleak seasons of this world, the reality of God’s sovereignty soothes my soul. Because while everything can seem chaotic, there is a shalom, a peace that exceeds what we can see. He can see it. He sees the beginning and the end. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He’s already told us our future. The end of Revelation is really good, y’all.
One of the most invigorating and comforting truths in the universe is that God is in control—and our God is good. John Newton said it well, “Our relief lies in the wisdom and sovereignty of God.”
God’s plans cannot be thwarted. God’s purposes cannot be ctrl+alt+deleted. God is unstoppable. And God has a million ways of getting things done.
The book of Jonah shows us the lengths to which God works for us and his purposes. After God calls Jonah to Nineveh (1:1–2), Jonah decides to exert his own plan (hilarious) and head to a different city. The narrative shows us God’s sovereignty in action:
God threw a wind on the sea (1:4)
God appointed the fish to swallow Jonah (1:17)
God told the fish to vomit Jonah up (2:10)
God appointed a plant to grow for Jonah (4:6)
God appointed a worm to attack the plant (4:7)
I’m amazed at the details of God’s sovereignty and activity in Jonah. We see God working in a variety of ways:
Wind
Waves
A fish
A plant
A worm
God’s sovereignty works in big categories, like meteorology, and he works in tiny things, like a single worm—and the unseen things, like a plant shooting up.
Maybe I’m weird, but I find comfort in knowing a tiny worm is in God’s arsenal. It shows his power. He can command one worm to do his work. It shows his attention—nothing is too little or insignificant to communicate his love and care. It shows his wisdom. A worm and a cross show how God uses the weak and “foolish” things of life to demonstrate his love, power, and goodness.
The supremacy of God is displayed in his sovereignty. It leaves me in awe of him. It moves me to worship. All hail the God who commands worms! Lift high the God who speaks to fish! Exalt the God who uses a cross to save us from our sins!
Just listened to a sermon on Jonah by Alistair Begg who has very similar thoughts. What fascinated me is that in the translation he used, God "provided" the plant and the worm. Really made me think about what God provides that I don't see as "provision" but as a nuisance.