Key Truth: God sovereignly controls all things for the sake of His redemptive mission for the life of the world. 

God’s Sovereignty Over All 

Jonah 1:7-10 

How do you react when you hear about God’s sovereign control over your life?    

“…God is the one who controls the events [in Jonah].  It was God’s command to his prophet that evoked Jonah’s futile response of flight in the first place.  It was God who hurled His wind at the sea to produce the life-threatening storm. God caused the lots to designate Jonah to the crew as the source of their distress, and God calmed the sea suddenly when Jonah was thrown overboard.  Imagine being one of the sailors when the empty ship arrived back at port in Joppa. When the others proposed worshiping as a group at a shrine of Yahweh to show their lasting gratitude, would it be easy to say, ‘Not me—some other time, perhaps?’  What had happened to the sailors was probably the most awesome and shocking experience of their lives. Could they ever forget what they had seen Yahweh, Jonah’s God, do?”

Douglas Stuart, Word Biblical Commentary: Hosea-Jonah

God’s Sovereignty for the Sake of His Redemptive Mission

Jonah 1:11-16

In what ways has God’s goodness and faithfulness to you in Christ helped you to trust Him amid painful and tragic experiences? 
How might this shape the way you talk about His sovereignty with others? 

“Grant, Almighty God, that as You have once given us such an evidence of Your infinite power in Your servant Jonah, whose mind, when he was almost sunk down into hell, You yet raised up to Yourself, and supported with firm constancy so that He prayed and called on You—O grant, that in the trials by which we must be daily exercised, we may raise upwards our minds to You, and never cease to think that You are near us.  And when the signs of Your wrath appear, and when our sins thrust themselves before our eyes, and drive us to despair, may we still constantly struggle, and never surrender the hope of Your mercy, until, having finished all our contests, we may at length freely and fully give thanks to You, and praise Your infinite goodness, such as we daily experience, that being conducted through continual trials, we may at last come into that blessed rest which is laid up for us in heaven, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

John Calvin, Commentaries on Jonah

Application:

Jonah 1:7-16 teaches us that God is sovereignly at work:

- in every part of our lives.

- to show Himself gracious, merciful, and faithful to all who call upon Him.

- to bring people from every nation into the rest and joy of His eternal Kingdom.