This morning I found a selection of
Christmas music on YOUTUBE, "If Mozart wrote Christmas Carols". My wife came
downstairs and heard it, and is now enjoying it, too. It includes beautiful
orchestral renditions of familiar carols and well-known Christmas songs. What a
joy to listen to such heart-lifting melodies during this most festive of all
seasons.
The world woke up this weekend to the
news of barbaric actions by some barbarians and savages, inflicting injury and
death to innocent people. We all get angry and become revengeful and hateful.
Here I am
using the terminology of Donald Grey Barnhouse, Princeton Graduate, Theologian,
Pastor, and a great commentator. He said it something like this. In the
beginning there was only one will - God’s. When
there was only one will, the universe was filled with peace and harmony.
But now Satan (whose will is completely opposed to God’s will) has been set free
to roam about the universe, working his diabolical deeds. He roams the world today like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He stirs up trouble,
makes false accusations, and incites us to commit every sort of evil deed. He
is a world-wrecker and a home-destroyer.
“The thief comes to steal our integrity, our decency, our kindness, our
compassion, our generosity, and every other godly impulse. He intends to destroy
our friendships, our homes. He does all that he does so that God’s work might
come to an end and he might remain the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Is God sovereign over the devil? Absolutely.
Why doesn’t he destroy him? He will. Until then we live on the battlefield of
a vast spiritual conflict between God and Satan, between good and evil. We
happen to be on the winning side, but that does not mean we won’t suffer
casualties as the battle ebbs and flows. This may be the central message of the book
of Job. In the beginning Job faced unimaginable loss, a series of catastrophes
that left him scratching his sores on the ash heap, with a wife urging him to
curse God and die. The largest part of the book is a dialogue with his friends
over why these things have happened. The most amazing fact is that Job
never found out why God chose him for such suffering. His central question
still remains unanswered. He apparently never found out about Satan’s part in
the whole scheme. So, in terms of specific answers, he was left in the dark,
but by the end of the book there is a huge difference. At the last he bowed
before the Lord, acknowledging God’s sovereignty. “I know that you can do anything, and no
one can stop you” (Job 42:2 NLT).
I suppose the question might be put this way:
Am I
willing to believe that God knows what he’s doing in my life when I don’t have a
clue? In
his book “If God is in Charge,” Steve Brown tells the story of a class
his associate pastor was teaching in which he said that God is sovereign, God is
love, and no matter how bad things get, Christians should praise him. He went
on to say that the real test of praise is not when things are going good but
when they are going bad. During the question and answer period, a man raised
his hand and said, “I just can’t buy what you say about praising God in the
midst of evil and hurt. I don’t believe that when you lose someone you love
through death, or you have cancer, or you lose your job, that you ought to
praise God.” The associate pastor offered a simple yet profound
answer. “What other alternatives do you propose?”
The question begs for an answer. If God is
not sovereign, then who is? If God is not in control, who’s running the
show? The good news is that our God is in control. “The Lord has established his throne in
heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” I admit that it doesn’t always appear to be
so, but it is true. There are two choices we can make. We can reject
God’s sovereignty, which ultimately leads to despair and frustration, or we can
bow before him in humble submission, which leads to praise and freedom.
That’s
God’s track record. “What then shall
we say to these things? If God is for
us, who can be against us?” (Romans
8:31) So far from being a cold, hard doctrine, the
sovereignty of God fills the believer’s heart with comfort. In this world
with so many questions, we know with certainty that his throne is in heaven, he
rules over all, and he loves us so much that he gave his Son that we might have
everlasting life. He who upholds the universe holds me in the palm of his
hand. He who guides the stars guides my life too. He who knows all things from
beginning to end knows me and I entrust my life to Him.
In
Him,
Brown
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