LSEM > Devotions > Man Plans, But…

Man Plans, But…

  • May 5, 2025
  • Posted by: Carolyn Mahal
  • Category: Devotions
No Comments

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.  But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? 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. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” – Jonah 3:10-4:4

In the Scripture verse, Jonah is demonstrating a key component of human nature through the simple of act of establishing in his own mind a plan for how things were supposed to go after a seafood dinner finally convinced him to follow God’s directive and go to Ninevah.  Upon first glance, you might think that there’s nothing wrong with that.  Planning for the future is a good thing. Every good boy scout around the world is taught to be prepared, and in the words of the famous cliché, a failure to plan is a plan to fail. So why the fuss?  What’s the big deal?

Jonah gets off course because he develops a plan for what he thinks should happen separate from what God intends to do.  He paints a picture in his own mind of the outcome for the doomed city, then positions himself to have the best possible view of the coming destruction. In some ways, I imagine this to look like sports fans tailgating before the big game, or people choosing the best spot to watch an upcoming fireworks show.  Those events are fun, but Jonah’s plan is foolish. Yes, God sent him to Ninevah to deliver a harsh warning, telling the people that their wickedness left them forty days away from their demise. But ask yourself a simple question: Why did God go to the trouble of warning the people of Ninevah in advance? Had God wanted Ninevah wiped from the face of the earth, He could have just done it. Ultimately, God loved the people of Ninevah and when He observed their acceptance of the message and serious repentance, He chose to forgive them and spare them from His wrath. In truth, this was the best possible outcome, and for his part, Jonah should have felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment, having helped save the city. Instead, he turned his thoughts inward and considered only himself. I can imagine Jonah’s thoughts when he realized the ‘show” had been called off…

What is God doing? This isn’t right. I think He should follow through with His original plan. If He doesn’t, he’s making me look like a chump. I (eventually) did exactly what He said to do. Now it’s His turn to hold them accountable for their mistakes! They don’t deserve forgiveness for what they’ve done!

To read or hear those thoughts, our first reaction to them is likely to find this all sounds ridiculous. But upon deeper reflection, I feel that we all may find that we’re more like Jonah than we think. Most of us could easily identify people, places, groups, organizations, or even entire cities that, in our righteous might, deserve whatever punishment God gives them. There’s several problems with this line of thinking. First, we are not God, and He does not need to seek out our advice to help Him govern His creation. Second, we are no better than any of the other sinners out there, in fact, our sin puts us into the same category of being a broken creation, tainted by sin and deserving of the same punishments bestowed upon any other sinner. That’s a harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless. We must learn from Jonah, who despite being a prophet of the Lord, still was a sinful man in need of forgiveness.

In faith, we can combat these types of quick, emotional reactions and increase our capacity to trust in God’s direction for our lives.  Through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus, we can come into God’s presence. Through the redemptive work of the Holy Spirit, we can seek to live in greater accord with God’s will.  We may not always know the plans our Father has for us, but even in our ignorance, may we put our full trust in His word, where He has promised us grace, mercy, and peace through Christ.

 

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

Senior Director of Operations