So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. (Jonah 1:7)

There are some mysteries that we will never understand on this side of eternity, providence is one such mystery. Be assured that there is no such thing as fate, chance, or luck. The deist will say that God is a divine clockmaker who set the course of the universe and is watching everything happen. The truth that Scripture presents is quite the opposite. Instead, God is actively involved in everything that happens. There is not one event that God has not ordained, for the believer, there are no events that God is not working for their good, ultimately, all actions are happening for God’s glory.

God has given Jonah a calling to go to Nineveh, but Jonah does not listen to God’s calling. Jonah attempts to run from God, but His attempts are futile, God is sovereign over the waves and brings a storm to the boat that Jonah is on. On the boat that Jonah does not admit to the sailors that the storm is because of him, so the sailors cast lots. It is not random that the lot fell on Jonah, but God who is the master conductor over the great and small orchestrated the lot would fall on Jonah. From the smallest lot pointing to Jonah and the great fish that swallowed Jonah and carried him to Nineveh God has been behind it all leaving nothing to chance.

When evil happens to the believer, they can testify like Joseph that God has intended the evil for our good. No matter what circumstance befalls the child of God, they can be assured that God’s favor is still with them. With the cross in view we can be confident that if God would sacrifice His own son for us, how can He not also give us all other things. God is sovereign and maintaining our lot. If we are confident of God’s love for us and that nothing can stop His decrees then we can rest assured that the lines have fallen for us in pleasant places.