"Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." -- Jonah 3:1
Ever rebel against God? Think He won't forgive and forget?
Just look at Jonah, who yielded to his prejudice against the hated Assyrians in his refusal to preach repentance to Nineveh.
Jonah was aware of the ferocity and brutality of the Assyrians. He knew the desire of its rulers in Nineveh to exert their dominance over the whole world. Jonah’s revulsion was a common human reaction to such evil despotism.
But here, too, God expects us to follow His commands and not our own "common sense." God loved the brutish Assyrians, too. And he sent Jonah to the very people Jonah hated so much but God loved so fiercely.
Jonah did what seemed perfectly reasonable: He heard the word of the Lord to preach judgment and repentance to Nineveh, and he high-tailed it in the opposite direction.
A supernatural tempest, a confession to the ship’s crew that he was the cause, and a throwing overboard led to the most miraculous transportation imaginable (or unimaginable). A giant fish swallowed Jonah and, after three days, barfed him up safely onshore.
"Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time."
God’s plan was not thwarted. Nor was it diminished by the disobedience.
God's mercies extended beyond Nineveh -- and into a recalcitrant heart. Jonah, despite his disobedience, was allowed to be a partner in God's work.
Even when I — whether inadvertently or willfully — disobey God, He will get it done, and, once I’m back on track, extend His forgiveness to me, too, and allow me to work with Him to accomplish His great purposes.