Why God Frustrates Us

Daily Devotional – Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

God has instructed Prophet Jonah to go and preach against the extremely sinful city of Nineveh in Assyria. Jonah will hear none of it. In the past, he has obeyed God but this time, the mission is too risky. God decides to frustrate Jonah’s plans to restart His own.

Why God Foils Our Plans

Before you condemn Jonah for his obstinacy, however, consider this. The Assyrians are renowned for their cruelty. Jonah is aware of people being skinned alive in Nineveh. What will they do to a foreigner preaching against their sins, in the name of a foreign deity? Perhaps he also wonders why the God of Israel wants to save a heathen nation.

Well, Jonah will not wait to find out! He packs his bags and heads for the port city of Joppa. He boards a ship headed to Tarshish (not Nineveh) contrary to God’s instructions. He finds a place under the deck and falls asleep. Now, he reasons, God cannot reach him.

Heaven Thwarts Jonah’s Purposes

Meanwhile, God raises a storm and the ship is at risk of breaking. The desperate sailors call on their gods to save them. They also throw some of the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. Nothing works.

The captain then remembers Jonah, the only unbothered occupant of the ship. It does not take long before they discover the Hebrew passenger is the cause of their problems. At his own request, Jonah is thrown into the ocean. He would rather die than preach to the Assyrians.

Many are the Plans in a Person’s Heart

It takes three days in the belly of a whale for Jonah to come to his senses. Finally, he delivers God’s message to Nineveh. His sermon is so powerful, the Assyrian King proclaims a fast and the city repents. God spares Nineveh from destruction.

According to Solomon, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21). Jonah had alternative plans to thwart God’s purpose for him and for Nineveh, but the Lord’s blueprint prevailed.

When God Sabotages Our Plans

God created every human being for a purpose. Each of us is on a mission on earth. Success is the result of discovering why God created you and pursuing that purpose with all the resources God has given you. The moment you veer off from that path, God sabotages your plans.

We will find no joy on the ship to Tarshish. No amount of money, fun, friendships, alcohol, drug abuse or overworking will replace the fulfilment of taking the risk to embark on the risky mission to the Nineveh of your life.

Why God Frustrates Us

What is your mission one earth? Which special gifts and talents has God given you to use to accomplish your mandate? What is the unfinished business you would not want to leave without completing? Do you feel unsatisfied in your career and personal development?

God frustrates us when we choose (consciously or otherwise) to pursue plans, projects and careers that He did not ordain for us. Why wait, like Jonah, for God to foil your plans before you take the right turn? Remember, it is never too late to obey God’s voice.

Prayer
Almighty Father, teach me to know when You are frustrating my plans to restart Yours. Show me the path back to the purpose for which You created me.