Is God ever as surprised as we are when the devil blindsides us with circumstances we weren't prepared for? Apparently not. According to Isaiah the prophet here's what God has to say concerning that: "From the beginning I told you what would happen in the end." (Isaiah 46:10) Evidently, God is sovereign (without input or a vote on the matter from us) all by Himself. The ability to trust the sovereignty of God in the midst of dire circumstances is one of the real challenges of our Christian faith.
There are a few Christian cliches we are skilled at tossing around when life seems to be going according to plan (at least our plan). I know God knows what's best for my life. I'm glad God's in charge. I know God cares deeply for me. Words like these come quite easily when the water is calm. There a tad harder to voice when you have to step out of the boat and walk on the raging sea! What do you say when you're looking at a broken engine and no money to repair it, a suspicious growth on your face that's getting larger by the day, a terminated job with no visible means of income, do you trust in His sovereignty then?
Rejecting the sovereignty of God takes a lot more effort though. It requires scissors and a hole-y Bible, for you have to cut out many verses in order to justify your assertion that human suffering cannot be reconciled with the sovereignty of an all powerful God. My humble suggestion? Take God at His word (after all you do your bank manager and he's only human), He is sovereign all by Himself. Have a great weekend!
4 comments:
I love this post. It certainly is harder to deny His sovereignty--and completely irrelevant and pointless to try. What fantastic peace is realized when this concept permeates our minds.
My friend Gary has his own cliche: a value isn't really a value until you're down in the dirt. It's easy to say we have Christian values and beliefs, as you said, when the water is calm, but when you're stuck spinning your tires in the mud - that's when they really mean something.
Love the words of wisdom Hope. Your book was mailed today. Blessings to you and yours.
Hope C. Thanks for your encouragement. It is so true that finding that place of knowing that He is sovereign is the place of true peace.
Gapper, I will make sure you get a copy of the book mailed to you. I didn't want to publish your comment so that your address wasn't visible for all the world to see.
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