Chaos. Heartbreak. Fear and anxiety. Where is God? Is He
on vacation? Is He powerless?
He is not on vacation. He is not powerless.
Psalm 115:1-3 (ESV) states,
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.
Why should the nations say,
'Where, now, is their God?'
But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.”
I have
said before and say it now, GOD IS SOVEREIGN. He is still reigning.
Amos 3:5-6
(ESV) states,
“ Does
a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?
Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?
If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the
people tremble?
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?
If a CALAMITY comes to a
city, the LORD has done it!!! Does that surprise you? It did me when I first
learned it. But now it is a comforting truth. But how can this be comforting?
It is comforting because it tells me that God is still in control. This world seems to be spinning out of
control. It seems that evil and lawlessness have won. We see calamity in many cities.
But it is not outside of God’s control.
It may be difficult to
believe that God exerts this level of control over creation, but the Bible is
plain.
Ephesians 1:11-12 (ESV)
says,
“In
Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having
been predestined according to His purpose who works all
things after the counsel of His will, to
the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the
praise of His glory. “
God predestines people
to salvation as well as working all things after the counsel of His will!!
It says he WORKS ALL THINGS. I don’t know how people ignore these truths.
It is normal to be fearful
in this fallen, hectic world. But we need to put our hope and trust in God. He
alone is our peace. He is our strength.
Friend, if you are not a
believer in Christ, please hear the following:
All people are sinners.
“ as
it is written,
‘There
is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become
useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 (ESV)
All people who die without
Christ will be sent to the lake of fire for eternity.
“ And
if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown
into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15 (ESV)
But there is good news:
Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a perfect life, then died on a cross. He was
raised back to life three days later. He ascended into heaven where he now sits
at the right hand of God the Father and advocates for all who believe.
“ For I
delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with
the Scriptures, “ 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
(ESV)
“ For I
am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:16 (ESV)
Christ’s death pays the penalty for the sins of those
who believe.
“For
if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
Romans 5:10 (ESV)
“There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For
the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and death. For God has
done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, in order
that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in
us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1-4 (ESV)
“ Surely
he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5 (ESV)
God commands all people to repent and to believe the
message about His son Jesus.
“ The
times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent, because he has
fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by
a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to
all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31 (ESV)
“The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.” Mark 1:15 (ESV)
“Whoever believes in
the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but
the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:36 (ESV)
All who believe in Jesus will have eternal life.
The God who saves sinners is the God who is in control
of all things in heaven and on earth. I encourage you to learn about Him. The
Bible tells us all we need to know about Him. I have only given a little
glimpse of Him. He is the savior of all who believe. But He also controls the
universe.
“He is the radiance of the
glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the
universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
Believe in Jesus. Remember, God is all sovereign…
