We may have sets of beliefs that govern our view of
life, but does our belief about God, calm our fears? Do our beliefs stand the
test of our trials, before the real God? Do our beliefs calm our fears, stand
the test of our trials, especially when we face the kinds of troubles which are
beyond us and overwhelm us, and motivates us to move forward in our faith walk,
and our journey? In the insurmountable difficulties, and trials we begin to
learn a lot and we begin to realize that the house on which we are standing may
be something less than the reinforced concrete of Biblical truth. We come to
the sobering reality, and the deepest part of us and everything within us begin
to crumble, and we are totally broken and devastated before the Lord to know
Him and to be known by Him. Is God still Sovereign? If God is really Sovereign,
how does that really help us overcome our fears while we are facing the
difficulties of our earthly life, which is filled with fear, anxieties and
worries.
First of all let
us look at the meaning of the word ‘Sovereign’
sov·er·eign
noun
1.
1.
a supreme ruler, especially a
monarch.
|
synonyms:
|
2.
2.
a former British gold coin worth one
pound sterling, now only minted for commemorative purposes.
adjective
1.
1.
possessing supreme or ultimate
power.
"in modern democracies the
people's will is in theory sovereign"
|
synonyms:
|
Now let us look at
the Biblical meaning of ‘Sovereignty’.
If you were to look up the word “sovereign” in
the dictionary, you would find words and phrases like “superior,” “greatest,”
“supreme in power and authority,” “ruler,” and “independent of all others” in
its definition. But the way I like to explain God’s sovereignty best is simply
to say, “God is in control.”
www.christianity.com/.../what-does-the-phrase-god-is-sovereign-really-...
/ Christian Theology / What does the
phrase “God is sovereign” really mean? ... But the way I like
to explain God’s sovereignty best is simply to say, “God is in
control.”. There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that
is outside of God’s influence and
Let us look at
some of the real life scenarios which could be troubling us deeply:
·
Within a short period many Pastors in the church left, and there is no
real Pastor where people can go and share their grief, sorrow,
trials, pain, joy and church is in tribulation. A church which is the so called
community of believers has turned into a den of thieves, and for many the joy
of going and worshipping is removed. The Word of God also says, “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that
is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the
sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones;”
Zech: 13:7. But this has become increasingly difficult for some and the present
situation has become very dark and gloomy. Many feared that God is punishing
the church, and some thought it was their problems, and things were spinning
out of control. People were discouraged,
friendships were being torn apart, and the ministry of many Pastors were thrown
apart and there was no stability in the church and in the leadership. Now,
where is God in all this? And some are even forced to think that does God
really care. Where is hope for the believers?
·
In
Christian families tragedy after tragedy arises and crisis followed one after
another. Life threatening illnesses, bad news from the Doctor’s office for a
mother for her children can devastate anyone. One can begin to think and wonder
if they had believed in vain though they were Christians. One can also think if
there is a God, was He really Sovereign, really in control of all these
calamities. Hearts can become calloused because of the difficult situations,
and make one wonder “Is God sitting impotently in heaven, just wringing His
hands over all the troubles of my family, even though I call upon Him daily to
rescue me”? The normal questions which could rage in our hearts are: Where is
God now? Whom can we trust now? Is God watching? Has God made another mistake?
·
A
Christian running the business faithfully, putting all the initial investments,
time, energy, people potential and expecting return of the capital investment,
turning into another tragedy. The business entering into a dark hole, and the
employees had to be retrenched, finally the employees suing the Christian
director who has labored for the business endlessly. Again the friendships were
torn into pieces and relationships which were treasured were destroyed to great
lengths, and the peace and joy once cherished were gone for ever. Does not God
know that this business would turn into a tragedy? Why would he allow to invest
the time and, money and energy if He knows that this is what is going to
happen? The person can also wonder if they had missed God’s will in starting
the business.
What does God want us to learn from this tragedy of loss?
·
When
one accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour, our sins are wiped out completely even
though it is scarlet red, it becomes white as snow according to God’s Word. A
person going through HIV, because of past sins may wonder whether God has
really forgiven them or not? This can even force one to think “Is God really
Sovereign, and if He is He could have kept her from this terrible sickness.” The
emotional turmoil, and the roller coaster of emotions rising within a person,
and the deep question within rising, “where is God”?
·
I
have known of a Christian elderly woman, who lost her five children and she is
living with her husband who is not an encourager in her walk with the Lord. Also
I have known many godly women, who have lost their children for the world
completely and agonizing. What about godly women who were persecuted, and
crushed by their church going religious husbands who cannot share their heart
aches with anyone else? Think about youths from Christian families, who are
very involved in illicit sex and addictions of various kinds; whose parents are
in continuous tears……where is God?
·
What
about ungodly authorities around us? It could be the systems around us, our
work place, the nations and their governments, our family unit as a whole, or
even ungodly husbands. What does God want one to learn?
·
Let us also look at a scenario from the Bible, where the prophet
Habakkuk is crying out to God. “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou
wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why
dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and
violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore
the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth
compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth;” Hab:1:1-4. Here
the prophet is complaining to God, about the violence done for the abuse of
justice among his own people and the prophet was troubled by many hardships
which the good people of the nation had to face.
I can keep on writing about various scenarios, real
life threatening issues, jail sentences, addiction to drugs to devastation,
strife, divisions, the law is slacked for judgment and alcoholism in Christian
families. Maybe we are facing one of the
above problems, or may be all of the problems. Where is God in all these
situations? Is God really Sovereign?
Please join with me in my explanation and let us try
to understand where we are and what we are going to learn. I have a diagram
below and I am trying to explain the diagram below: The (x axis) which is
horizontal intersects with the (y axis) which is perpendicular and divides into
4 Quadrants.
1st Quadrant: the top corner on the right
(+x, +y); period where all is good.
Sometimes life is good and Bible tells us there are
times and seasons in people’s lives; Ecc:3
2nd Quadrant: the one below the above on
the right (+x, -y); issues can be managed.
Life goes on and issues are manageable and we keep
moving forward.
3rd Quadrant: the one on the left above
(_x, +y); issues can be solved.
All of us wants to move forward and we try to manage
things on our human effort, and capabilities.
4th Quadrant: the one below on the left (-x,
-y); totally helpless, and hopeless.
Now, things are getting harder, and we could not
manage with our capacities, and we needed much help, we tried, and we failed
and we are helpless. We are almost coming to the end of ourselves, and we are
beginning to wonder if there is a God, why He should allow such difficulties in
our lives. When we are pressured and crushed from all directions we may fall
into the 4th Quadrant on the left side which is below (-x, -y).
Let us look briefly at the following mathematical
Quadrants:
Another diagram to illustrate our overwhelming situation would be a
valley within a valley or many valleys within a larger valley. When our
problems overwhelm us, we could be sitting in a larger valley with many valleys
within it. We really wanted to come out and we want to enjoy the peace and the
joy, but it is humanly impossible. We want someone to deliver us, and our heart
wrenching cry is, God deliver me.” Can You please deliver me? Are You there?
Are You Sovereign?
Below is a picture of valleys inside a bigger valley.
Valleys within a Valley
If we are in a difficult situation like our Patriarchs
like Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jacob and also like our prophets in the Bible, we
can go to God in prayer with our questions and struggles. God is able to help
us in our struggles, and answer us in our struggles with authority through His
Word. May be we can even think that we have no hope in our situations and it is
extremely hard to understand that God is good. But, God wants us to understand
that He is in control even in the most ‘unscalable’ situations. Please follow my next blog Sovereignty of God for more clarity.
For
further reading:
1. Millard J.
Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House:
1983-85.
2. R.T.
Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church
in the 21st Century. 1996.
3. Jay E.
Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.
4. Louis
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
5. Robert P
Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and
Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House, 1986.
6. Charles
Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999.
7. A. H.
Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co,
1907.
8. Wayne
Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
9. Steven W.
Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo:
Westcliffe Press, 2007.
10. John Theodore
Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for
Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen. St. Louis, Mo: Concordia
Publishing House, 1934.
11. Prayers To
Move Your Mountains. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.
12. John White. Parables,
the Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois: Inter varsity Press, 1988,
1999.
13. ESV Study
Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway
Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News
publishers, 2008.
14. The Matthew Henry
Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible
Publishers, Inc. 1990.
15. Elyse
Fitzpatrick. Overcoming Fear, Worry and
Anxiety. Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon,2001.
No comments:
Post a Comment