To Encourage You

Matthew 8:27 “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Luke 12:24 “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods: we have a name for them. We call them “acts of God.”  One dictionary defines this term as “An instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation and often used in insurance claims.”  Another dictionary says this: “A natural hazard outside human control, e.g., an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible.”  It’s an interesting term, but one that likely has led many people to a misconception of who God is and how He acts. 

Some people think that God controls the “big things” but most everything else either we have some control over, or things are left up to “chance.”  As for man, it is true that we have a seemingly broad latitude within which we can act.  Certainly, man has the ability to do great things, be it in the realm of science, politics, or engineering.  However, if we think that God’s work is relegated to the “big things” and everything else is more or less up to us (or chance), we have a very deficient view of the intimacy of the work of our Sovereign God.  For example, He feeds the birds, as Luke tells us in the words above. In fact, as the psalmist said of God, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16). In other words, God doesn’t just feed the ravens, but He feeds you and me as well.  But someone might say “I feed myself.  I work to earn money, and I then use that money to buy my food. What’s God got to do with it?”  However, if that’s what we believe, we should consider these words: “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).  In other words, who gave us our minds with which to think and learn, our hands with which to work, and the opportunities in life that came our way that led our path to the job we have?

But what about chance?  Aren’t there a lot of things that “just happen.”  If that’s what you think, consider these words from Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” 

You see, God is in control of not just the big things, but the very minutest details as well.  There’s a hymn that says “His eye is on the sparrow.” It’s based on the words of the following verse: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God” (Luke 12:6). But that is immediately followed in the next verse by this “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” 

Our God is a sovereign God. He controls everything.  The same God who tells the ocean waves “Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed” (Job 38:11) guides us with His Word.  And even if we give no heed to it, even if we make our daily plans giving no thought to God, we are told “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).  That means every person – you, me, and even the president of the United States, for “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). 

But what about evil people, and evil kings? To this we have the words of Joseph, mistreated by his own brothers as well as by Potiphar (an official in Pharaoh’s court) and Potiphar’s wife: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis50:20). And of the murderers of Jesus, Peter said this: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:22-23). 

Acts of God – are they limited to the hurricanes and earthquakes, the big “uncontrollable” things in this world? Not a chance, for God is sovereign over all.  What a comfort to those who love Him and a harsh reality to those who don’t.  I don’t know about you, “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) for it is the ultimate act of futility to resist the omnipotent Creator who controls it all.