For many students of the Bible who are sincerely struggling to establish some type of clear and relatively stable theological perspective, the concept of God as sovereign God is a very important doctrine that demands serious study. It is not sufficient to simply acknowledge that God is all-knowing, all powerful and omnipresent, but we must have some understanding of the nature and essence of God at a deeper level so that the significance of His sovereignty is known in a meaningful way. From a very early age, I had always been taught that God can do anything but fail. I was told that God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, loving, just and so on; that nothing happens in life that was in contradiction to His will. And yet, the world was (and is) wrought with the terrible realities of injustice, persecution, and oppression. In my mind, I could not conceive of a God who permitted so much wrong to prevail in the world in which He was ruler. I often thought to myself, Was it Gods will that Blacks should be enslaved and accorded an inferior status in society? Was it Gods will that Hitler and his regime should torture and murder six million Jews? Was it Gods will that thousands of innocent children should be slaughtered or fall victim to crimes of all kinds and treated as objects rather than people? If God is just and in charge, then why are the innocent called upon to die or suffer so needlessly? The book of Isaiah stands out in my mind as having been of tremendous help as I grappled with these and other questions. I read about how Assyria had become a threatening world power and had defeated Judah where Isaiah had lived and prophesied. How God acts in history became clearer to me as I understood the destruction of Gods people by a pagan nation. In the final analysis, Assyria unwittingly became the instrument of Gods purposes. Assyria seemed to be in control, but, in reality, was not. God was and God is. Slowly, I began to comprehend the truth behind my cloud of questions. I began to see that history, past, present and future is indeed in Gods control and that He acts within the freedom of His own economy toward accomplishing His purposes. Therefore, I cannot say that God wills all that happens. But, what I can say is that whatever happens, God is Lord over it. In events where men in their freedom defy God, forces like Nazism, slavery, and communism inevitably develop. Yet, even these forces are brought under Gods sovereignty. God is not defeated by a Hitler or Stalin, nation or country. On the contrary, God is able to make such use of them that in time His purposes rather than mans are affected. My personal perspective no longer takes into account the questions of the human condition as it relates to Gods justice. Rather, I see God's justice as it relates to and in the midst of the human condition. I firmly rest in the knowledge and assurance that God is in final control. |
