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For a number of years in my life I believed that God was almost sovereign. Sort of like saying someone is almost married. You either are or you aren’t. And if He is in fact sovereign, then nothing occurs apart from His control or apart from His command, or apart from His permission. Nothing.

To say that God is sovereign is to say that He is supreme. He is in full control of all things — all. He is almighty. He is the possessor of all power in all matters pertaining to all existence. Over all nature. Over all events. Over all blessings, all disasters and calamities. All humanity, all life in the realm of the seen and the unseen, good and evil. No one can defeat His purposes or thwart His plans. From His perspective there are no mistakes, no accidents, no coincidences, in things not only pertaining to life but including diseases and death.

Now if we go just this far and no further, then God remains a rather cold and calculating sort of deity at a distance. That’s an incomplete and incorrect picture or portrait of the living God. Remember, wrapped around all of this about His sovereignty is the fact that He is altogether love, goodness, grace, mercy, compassion, and kindness.

Now that we’ve had a lesson in Theology 101, let me bring some situations up and ask you to answer them. Is God sovereign when you lose your job through no fault of your own? Is God sovereign when you practice much harder but someone else wins? Is He sovereign when you’ve remained faithful as you’ve helped your husband through school and he runs off with another woman leaving you with the marriage and the children and the bills? Is He sovereign when you are better qualified but someone else gets the job you wanted and have been working and praying for? How about when all other babies in the hospital laying there in that nursery are tagged healthy and normal but yours is born with a birth defect: is He sovereign over that?

Part Two: Colleen's Story

When I was growing up as one of four Swindoll children, people often assumed our home was some quiet spiritual habitat, as if we discussed theology, fasted, and softly hummed hymns for family fun. Truth be told, the Swindoll family functioned like most families: there were always dishes to clean, socks to fold (they never matched), conflicts to resolve, animals to feed, instruments to practice, and a garage that continually collected stuff. Our lives held lots of noise and loads of laughter, but we also experienced tragic heartbreaks and seasons of sorrow. We, too, knew the unexpected and unwanted invasion of deep pain, dark betrayal, and difficult circumstances. This is simply the result of life lived in a sin-saturated world.

I sometimes chuckle when I think about people’s inaccurate perceptions of my family. What isn’t funny, however, is when members of God’s family have unrealistic expectations and false beliefs about what life should be like in His family. Those false beliefs are often at the root of spiritual conflicts and bewilderment. If you’ve asked God “Why?” or thought I never expected this — or questioned His goodness, faithfulness, justice, or kindness — it’s essential, I’ve learned, to examine your expectations. Why? Because we all have assumptions and beliefs about the Christian life.

As a preacher’s kid, I was taught about God’s unchanging nature, His promises, His forgiveness and, best of all, His grace. All of this was true, I knew ... in my mind. But without realizing it, I also clung to unrealistic expectations and false beliefs about the pleasant, happy life of good Christians. When things began to fall apart in my adult life, my picture of the serene Christian life did not match up to my daily realities. In 2005, I lost nearly all of my hearing. That same year, four or five very complicated, disabling conditions were added to my son’s previously diagnosed autism and developmental-delay disabilities. And slowly, my false beliefs about Christ blew away like dust in a dry wind.

After several years of spiritual bewilderment, I ceased wrestling with Jesus for control of my life. In humble submission, I accepted Christ as He really is — Lord over every aspect of my life. Surrendered, I experienced the sustaining presence of God’s mercy, grace, and peace ... and I accepted that my new reality included hardship and suffering. I had spent many days in anguish, wondering Why? But once I surrendered fully to God’s sovereignty, I began to replace that question with another: “Lord, for what purpose?”

My friend, this may be where you are in your relationship with Christ. Letting go of false notions of the Christian life and embracing Jesus as Lord will profoundly affect your life. As mine did, your life will undergo revolutionary change when you learn to turn the accusatory attitude often hidden behind the question “Why?” into a submissive and teachable spirit. Each time your life doesn’t meet your expectations, I encourage you to ask Jesus, “Lord, for what purpose have You brought this grief, this tragic accident, this horrible loss, this unchanging diagnosis, this child with disabilities into my life? What am I to learn?”

Suffering is a profound mystery. Asking this question doesn’t mean that the answers will suddenly become clear or that the situation will change ... but your heart and your perspective will. It helps me to remember that God never gave suffering Job the answers he asked for. Instead, Job got more of God.

About the author:  Chuck Swindoll
 
Chuck Swindoll