Anecdote No. 4: Security in God's Sovereignty
One of my good friends who is a nurse told me of the recent death of one of her patients, 2-year-old Brandon. He was born with gastroschisis, a birth defect where the intestines grow outside of the abdomen. Although he was able to sucessfully undergo a multi-organ transplant, he caught an infection that his little body wasn't able to fend off. As she shared this story with me, I couldn't help but imagine what I would feel or how I would cope if my own daughter was born with, or contracted, a disease that could possibly take her life. I couldn't imagine it. My friend spoke of the brokenness of Brandon's mother and of the parents' despair as they grieved the passing of their young boy. Then she asked me a simple yet profound question: "How do you share about God's love to a couple whose baby just died? What are you supposed to say?"
We will never be able to fathom why disease and death and disaster happen. But they do. It is a fact of life that these exist. Some may not experience it to the same degree as others and this inconceivable unfairness is difficult to swallow for many and a stumbling block to understanding, and accepting, God as love. I don't propose an answer to the question above, but I do propose this: God's sovereignty can be our security in times of trouble, heartache, and tribulation. If he is sovereign over the good that we experience in life, he must also be sovereign over the hardships we encounter. God himself endured the pain of seeing his only Son suffer a horrendous death on a cross to pay the penalty of our sin against him. Even though Christ himself spoke of his resurrection after death much to his disciples' unbelief, God alone knew the magnitude of this event in history, and its insurmountable accomplishment for those who believe.
Trouble will (and does) plague our lives. Some to a greater degree than others. I don't presume to know the answer to why God allows bad things to happen although I do believe that much of what happens is the natural course of life in a fallen, imperfect, temporal world, governed yet by God's sovereign hand. But God cannot be blamed for mankind's depravity and how that impacts a person's willfull actions. He grieves with us and offers us hope and reconciliation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can count on his grace to allow something beautiful, good, praiseworthy, true, and right to rise out of the ashes.
God's righteous people put their security in the sovereignty of God. That is much easier declared (and written) than actually done. But it's a daily practice, both of the mind and the will, that comes by faith.
Ponder with me the story of Job; a difficult one grasp. Here was a humble and obedient man, blessed by God with intelligence, health, wealth, possessions, a loving family. God allows every disaster (death, disease, dishonor) to plague this God-fearing, honest, hardworking man. Job, in response to all of this, acknowledges God as sovereign: "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised"(Job 1:21)... "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" (2:10). The story continues with Job and his three friends contending the reason for Job's affliction, each trying to determine (or defend) God's purpose in the matter - essentially that Job's suffering was God's way of punishing him for his sin against God. I'm sure that Job probably considered that reasoning even before his friends brought it to his attention. I know I would've if I were Job (and I admit to having done so many a time in my own life). But God had already declared Job to be "blameless and upright" and a man who "feared God and shunned evil" (1:1).
And so the difficult question still remains: Why does this happen to him?
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. provides a simple yet vexing answer that does well to reflect the attitude of one who consciously and consistently puts their trust in God's sovereignty:
"While we cannot deny that the issue of suffering in the lives of God's people, such as Job, still contains a good deal of mystery, it is just as much a horrible misconception to declare that suffering is God's normal route for every believer as it is to declare that God's goodness means life will always result in prosperity and riches for those who serve the Lord.
Our decision must be to follow God and trust his justice, wisdom, and goodness whether we are in the throes of suffering or enjoying good health and blessing. Such a decision would surely cut the ground out from under Satan in the spiritual warfare of our day and age. Thus, the law of God does not contradict the Psalms, the historical writings, prophets, or the wisdom books. Believers will continue to suffer, but it will always be under the permission or direction of a merciful and wise heavenly Father who works for our good in the way of the truth and fairness of the gospel."
Click here to read the entire article in Christianity Today: Reductionist Justice: Where Job's Friends Went Wrong About Suffering
Friend, although your heart may be troubled put your trust and hope in God. He is sovereign. Nothing and no one can fathom his thoughts and his ways. God's righteous people clutch onto this truth and when trouble or heartache or hardship or grief confront them, they are not quick to let go of His mighty hand because they know His wisdom, love, and mercy guide both the sunshine and the storm. He IS; we are not. I believe Job responded in the most appropriate way one could respond to God's own revelation of himself. I pray that we who live by faith would learn from his example and do the same.
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."
Job 42:1-6
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