Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. (Psalm 73:1)
Yesterday, we talked about how if you’re going to acknowledge that there is good in the midst of evil, you have to bring God into the picture. But even when you introduce God, that doesn’t solve the problem; it actually exposes the problem. You see something bothered Asaph that also bothers us. It goes back to the very first thing Asaph says about God. “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart” (Psalm 73:1).
He goes on to say that God is “the Sovereign Lord.” God is all good and God is all-powerful. He knows that God could forbid trouble from ever coming to any of us if He chose to. If God is sovereign, that means nothing happens to us unless God either causes it or God allows it. He keeps bad things happening from us. He does it all throughout Scripture. He kept the lions from eating Daniel. He kept the fire from burning Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He kept the giant, Goliath, from killing David. So, we know He can do it, but He doesn’t always do it. And that’s the dilemma we must wrestle with.
What we have to remember is that God wants to use even the bad things in our lives to mature us and grow us, to force us to look to Him, to place our trust in Him. Some of us will do that in good health, and some of us will do that battling illness. Some of us will do that having a lot, some of us will do that having a little. The point is God is going to get every one of us to the same destination, but He is not going to get all of us there the same way. At the end of the day, everything will be put together in such a way and used in such a way it will be for our ultimate good and for His eternal glory.
Dear Lord, thank you that you are sovereign over everything and everyone. I pray that you would give me the faith to trust your sovereignty and your will, even when it doesn’t make sense and even when it differs from what those around me are going through. For I know you are worthy of my complete trust. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Sovereignty
