God's Sovereignty

This is a story that I share with all the new members to be before we close the books on the class and enter the arena of an interview with an Elder. A woman writes," When she was born, a treatable disease was misdiagnosed, and she was paralyzed. By age 14 she had had 21 surgeries and was cruelly treated by other children calling her 'crippled'. She became a Christian in high school. She married, had four miscarriages and her second child died in her husband's arms at two months. She says she has read many books on suffering, but they are often so man-centered and nullify, or at least diminish the glory, majesty, and sovereignty of God. It is radical thinking to say that God wills and ordains our suffering and not just passively allows it, hoping to make the best of it for us. As I have grown in my walk, I can see nothing in this world happens apart from the sovereign will of God."

That will put tears in your eyes. And so, if it does, He knows and each tear is in His bottle, and they are all in His book. God's sovereignty is an anchor for our soul, and I know the waters get very deep sometimes. The anchor holds, oh how the anchor holds! How it brings hope for the downcast, stability for the feeble, a guarantee for a future inheritance, a solid ground and Rock that nothing will move or shake, EVER! Psalm 55:22," Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." 1Peter 5:7," Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares for you."

With God's sovereignty, the good news of God's substituting His son for us did indeed take place. Acts 4:27,28," For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur." There, our salvation and reconciliation with God was taken care of. But how about our future? Jer.32:40 says, " I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good, and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me."

So, as we are told to pray without ceasing (1Thess.5:17), somehow our prayers mingle with the sovereignty of our God. In Mark 5, Jairus's daughter is at the point of death when her dad goes to find Jesus as he knows Jesus can lay His hands on her and heal her. But on the way, another woman is healed and that takes time and before you know it, the group that was around the little girl comes out to find Jairus and tells him not to trouble the teacher anymore for the little girl has died. Trouble Him? Not now, not later, not never! He is never troubled with our requests, He always has time, and "delights in hearing the prayers of the upright," (Prov. 15:8), and "blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me."(Psalm 66:20). We can always keep on praying. He is never bothered, troubled or not interested with what is on our hearts.

To conclude, we hear Him say over and over again that if He is for us, who can be against us? For He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, God over all! "For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness, for He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men" (Lam.3:32,33). May we all pursue more, desire more, cherish more, the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent!

Elder Randy Slak