The Sovereignty of God in Life's Trials

Deanna sent me this photo this week (minus the text which was added via Picnik). It was taken from her backyard after a severe storm. She said it reminded her of glory. It reminds me of God's sovereignty. Now anyone who has spent any length of time in church knows that the word sovereignty can sometimes be thrown around by people who want to sound smart but can't explain what it really means. Thus, the rest of us pick up the habit of using a word we can only vaguely define. Let me simply this for you. Sovereignty, in regards to God, simply means that He has dominion, power and authority over everything. This is His World.

Let's just run through a quick list of some of the things God is sovereign over.

The weather.
"He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed." -Psalm 107:29.

Earning potential.
"You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth..."
-Deut. 8:18

Fertility.
"...and the LORD gave [Ruth] conception, and she bore a son." --Ruth 4:13

I really could go on for days. But let's stop at three so this post doesn't get out of control. It's nice to say we believe that God is sovereign, that He's in control. But what happens when a typhoon wipes out a village in the Phillipines or the people in the Mid-West are floating down streets on rafts due to severe flooding that is taking lives and ravaging homes? Where is God in that weather?

It's nice to believe God is in control of your finances when you are signing on the dotted line and purchasing your dream home, and your bank account is nicely padded. But what do you do when a catastrophy strikes and your savings vanishes in a matter of mere months and your checkbook doesn't contain enough money to pay all of your bills even though you have always tithed faithfully? Where is God and His power to give wealth in that circumstance and this rough economy?

Or what happens when a happily married Christian woman longs to hold a child in her arms only to be told she cannot conceive, yet a group of unwed teens in Massachussetts make a pact and all of them get pregnant without any problem? How is God sovereign in those circumstances?

Where is God in those times? He's in the same place He was in when the weather was good, the bank account was full and the womb was fruitful. God, my friends, is on His throne. He always has been, and He always will be. From His throne, He awaits the day Christ will return and all rights will be made wrong.

Timothy describes Him this way:

"...he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen" --1 Timothy 6:15-16

Today, I'm writing from the dark side of a very long and extended trial. I've been tempted to ask where God is in all of this. But I already know the answer. He's on His throne. When I'm tempted to ask why bad things happen to good people I think of what God is doing on His throne. He's awaiting the day Christ can return for His own. From my temporal perspective, my circumstances look pretty bad. But from an eternal perspective, I've already been showered with more grace and mercy than I can even recall. If heaven awaits my arrival, and Christ has prepared a place for me, my life really isn't that bad. Storms and all.