The Sovereignty of God As Seen In the Weather
Reading the Book of Jonah provides
many great messages and truths of the Bible. As I previously wrote on, Jonah is
a classic example of what happens when we choose to exercise free will over God’s
will. When God calls us to do something we should listen and obey. But even if
we don’t, Jonah reminds us that God is sovereign, and His will shall prevail.
The sovereignty of God is the
second gem of truth we find in the story of Jonah. Listen to what happened when
Jonah decides to ignore God’s Word and go the other direction.
Jonah 1:4
The LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.
The LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.
The fact that God is in complete
control of the weather is made evident many times in scripture. We see it in
the great flood and then in its aftermath.
Genesis 7:4
"For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made."
"For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made."
Genesis 8:1
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.
Genesis 9:13-14
I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud.
I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud.
Job knew God was sovereign.
Job 5:10
"He gives rain on the earth And sends water on the fields.”
"He gives rain on the earth And sends water on the fields.”
Its seen in the Psalms.
Psalm 147:7-8
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre, Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre, Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
Psalm 78:26
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens And by His power He directed the south wind.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens And by His power He directed the south wind.
And yes, Jesus, in an exercise of His deity, gave a demonstration.
Matthew 8:26-27
He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"
He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"
The Bible is clear, God is sovereign. This means when
storms come, God is behind it. When God created the world, He also established
the laws of nature. In science we can find certain answers to weather patterns
and so on, but even if a certain weather event is explained by the laws of nature,
that still means God is in control. If a tornado wipes out a town or a flood
devastates a community, God could have prevented it. So, whether God directly
brings upon an event or He simply allows it, we can trust that even in tragedy,
He is working it through for His will. This was the case for Jonah.
Jonah 4:6-8
So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over
Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah
was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came
the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came
up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head
so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying,
"Death is better to me than life."
Jonah was in rebellion to God and since God had chosen
Jonah to serve God’s message to the Ninevites, God in His sovereignty, used His
power over nature to impose His will over Jonah’s.
What does this story say to us as Christians? The answer
is obvious; we need to be obedient to God’s call on our lives. Like Jonah, we
cannot hide from God. Like Jonah, we cannot force our will to override God’s.
We can try. But we see clearly that things will not go well for us when we live
in rebellion to God.
This doesn’t mean that because it rained on your
picnic with your family and messed up the day that you are necessarily being
disciplined for something you did or didn’t do. But it does mean that when we
are amid the storms of life, we should go to God in prayer and seek His Word to
see if we are choosing to live in our will or in His. It means that when we are
struggling through the floods of life, we can rest in faith that God is behind
it and He is in complete control. We just need to turn to Him.
There is a great scripture that provides me comfort
and I have committed to memory. I close this message with it for it expresses
the truth of God’s sovereignty.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
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