WAITING ON GOD’S SOVEREIGNITY
Andrea was a nice girl with a huge secret. One day we were talking and she expressed a desire to share with me what ate at her heart for years. It was one of those secrets that no one ever wants to discuss or share with another person. As we sat there, you could tell that she was nervous as she started to talk and then would stop. This beginning and stopping lasted for sometime as she gained some confidence and some courage to express the deepest secret in her life. It was one of those events in life that are so painful that it is easier to deny and pretend that it never happened. Finally, she began. On that night I heard the saddest story that my ears ever personally heard. She told me that when she was five her mother remarried. Her new stepfather raped her when she five and this horrible act happened until she was eight and her mother finally left her stepfather.
But where was God in all of this? Why does God allow rape and murder and cruelty to affect innocent children? We claim that God is Lord. We claim that nothing is above His control. We state firmly that God is love and is all-powerful. So why does the Lord stand by and allow such cruel suffering to exist?
Joseph probably had the same questions. He was the favorite son of his father but his many brothers were jealousy of him. One day they saw an opportunity to dispose of this brother, especially since Joseph had a dream that one day his brothers would be bowing down to him. A caravan was going through the land and so his brothers sold him into slavery. Imagine this poor boy; he is only about 17 to 19 years old and his whole life is caving in on him. Picture him on this caravan, young and naïve and scared to death. He is taken to Egypt were he becomes a high-ranking servant in Potiphar’s house. Just when everything is going well, Potiphar’s wife makes a move on Joseph but Joseph does the right thing and rejects her but he is the one that is blamed and thrown into prison. Imagine this young man with all the rejects of society. I am sure he is wondering where the Lord is in this picture. He is faithful, he is submissive, but he is suffering. Where is God? Finally, Joseph has his opportunity to rise again in the Egyptian world by interpreting Pharaoh’s dream. This door that the Lord opened led him to the position right below Pharaoh himself on the power scale.
Job had the same questions as Joseph. Where is God in this life? In the book of Job we have an account of a deal made in heaven. Satan approaches the Lord and the Lord asks him to consider Job his righteous servant. Satan tells the Lord that the only reason job serves him is because he has a hedge of protection around him. Satan states that Job would curse God to his face if he were allowed to take his blessings away from him. The Lord agrees to this test. Satan begins his assault on Job. He begins by taking everything that Job has away from Him. He destroys his sheep, his camels, his servants, his flocks, and even destroys his sons and daughters. Imagine a man that has just heard that his family, his wealth, and his servants have all been destroyed without warming. Imagine the pain on that man’s face. His heart would have cracked. Job tears his robe, which is a old testament sign for unbearable and intense agony and shaves his head and he falls to the ground. At this moment I would have cried, I would have cursed, I would have screamed-- but Job worships. But Satan is not finished with him yet. Job might have been able to handle the outward tragic events but could he handle his own life being lost? Satan now inflicts Job with boils from head to toe. But instead of those around him encouraging him they rebuke him. His wife tells him to curse God and die; his friends rebuke him for being a sinner. Job is in a pitiful state. What would be going through your mind right now? How would you feel if everything you had was gone and those that love you turn on you? How would you react?
Maybe Andrea, Joseph, and Job needed to hear about God’s sovereignty. The doctrine of sovereignty is that God watches over everything. Everything is under God dominion. Psalm 115:3 states “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” God has absolute power of his creation. “"Even from eternity I am He; And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?" (Isaiah 43:13). God knows everything and he has planned for everything. This is the message of Isaiah 46:10-11 “Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ’My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”
Even the writers through the Holy Spirit understood God’s sovereign reign over everything. It was not by the choice of man that Christ died on the Cross but it was God’s will. Nothing shocks the Lord or nothing is beyond his knowledge. Acts 2: 23 tells this “this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” No one tells God what to do. No one is the boss of the Lord. “Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25). The best way to see God’s sovereignty is to look at the word. In the middle you see the term “reign”. Sovereignty means “God reigns.”
This is exactly the message the Job received from the Lord in Job 38-42. God offers a striking rebuke to Job. He asks him if he has created the world, if he commands the morning and the evening, and if Job laid the foundation of the earth. The Lord declares his sovereign power to job. He rebukes him for questioning his ways and his wisdom. But when Job realizes how big the Lord is and how small he is—he repents. Job 42:1-6 records this confession. “Then Job replied to the LORD: "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ’Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. "You said, ’Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
The problem is that we have bought into the American dream and forgotten God’s dream for man. The Lord is not concerned about making us happy. He is not the Lord of the blessed but of the conformed. His will is not to provide more and more riches, friends, and prestige to man. Making man successful is the American pursuit of happiness and not God’s pursuit for the image of man. God is concerned about using us to reveal his excellences and to bring glory to the Lord. This is why he brought Lazarus back from the death. It was to declare the glory of God. Lazarus may have desired to remain in paradise but he was called back to glorify the Lord. We must not be selfish and believe that the Lord is only a grandfather bearing gifts but rather the Lord is the one who reigns on earth. As human we are to be used for the Lord purpose and the Lord must never be used for our selfish reason desires. Look at the strong warning of Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” Also look at Ecclesiasts 7:14 “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.” Ultimately, the Lord does whatever he wishes.
This may seem like harsh teaching but it is meant to comfort. Instead of being fearful that the Lord is in complete control, we should be thankful because the Lord knows best. He is trustworthy. Since we know his nature and his promises we can be assured that we are in good hands.
I remember when I was in grade five camp. A group of us went out on the lake in canoes. It was a stormy day with the wind howling through the trees. The waves were crushing and forceful. But instead of being timid and staying close to the shore my partner and I head out on the open water to be 10 year old explorers of the great unknown. But after a while we were called into shore but the problem was that the waves were too great for us to row back. We were helpless and were being pushed out further from shore with every minute. Finally, one of the father’s at the camp that was experienced with handling a canoe rowed out to help us. All our confidence in our explorer talents were gone. We knew one think. We had to listen to that father. He threw a rope to us and we tied it to our canoe and through his strength he pulled us back to shore. He was in command. He was in charge. We had to rely on his strength. Sometimes we have to just rely on the Lord and trust him to provide.
This is how those during the Roman persecution felt. The Book of Revelation is written to these people. The Christians in the last part of the first century were dying by the hands of Roman soldiers because of their faith. The Christians could not fight the Romans, they could not overthrow the government, and they could not defeat the emperor. Therefore, they had to wait on the Lord. They had to trust God to handle the problem. The book of Revelation is written to comfort the suffering Christians and to encourage them to remain faithful in the presence of death. Though at the time the Christians must have been questioning the Lord and asking where he was and why is he allowing this pain to continue. But the resounding message of Revelation is that Christ is still on the throne in Heaven. Revelation 5:6 “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne.” The persecuted Christians are to remember that God is more powerful than Rome. At the time it may have seemed like the Christians were being defeated but today when we look back we see that Rome was destroyed but the Church still remains strong.
Sometimes, time provides the answers that cannot be seen in the present. When Joseph was in Egypt and in prison everything must have looked bleak. He was the favored son, he did have a distinguished career but now he is eating moldy bread and water. At that time he could not see God’s big plan. Job in his suffering could not see God’s eternal plan. Even the Christians in Rome could not see God’s ultimate plan. But God had one. Only after these events could Joseph explain God’s sovereign plan. Joseph declared the reason why he was sent to Egypt in Genesis 45:7-8 “"And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. "Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
When life is difficult and when life does not make sense we have to have a trust in our loving Lord. We must have confidence that the Lord knows best. Our simply minds do not know the works or plans of the Lord. We are just children under the care of our father in Heaven. God has promised to use us for his glory. Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Seth was sixteen years old. He was traveling with a group from the youth group at church to go to a friend’s house. It was late at night and he lost control of his car. The car shot into the ditch and slammed into a tree. The young men with him pulled him out of the car but he was vomiting and blooding. They called 911 and took him to the hospital. Seth was severely hurt. They rushed him to Vanderbilt to the intensive care unit. His parents sped to meet him there. That night Seth had a five percent chance to life. Early that morning I arrived at the hospital after hearing the news. We meet his parents and they took me in to see him. He was lying there blooding, puffy, and bruised. We went out to the waiting room to talk with the parents. His father who looked tired, hair messy and eyes blood shot summarized this lesson in his next statement on that day. He stated the eternal truth that cannot be denied. He said “I guess God is in control now.”
