Alright, this begins my blog series on God's sovereignty in the midst of suffering. I'm not sure how many entries this will take up, but in general I will cover 1-2 chapters per post, and aim to post about once every 2-3 days.
I would say this is one of the top 5 books I've read. Not only was this book giving me deep insight into the heart of God and His control of everything, but it was also doing so with full boldness, not afraid of speaking blunt truth. What made this book extremely credible was that most of the contributing authors of the book have experienced significant suffering: losing parents at a young age, losing children, getting cancer, becoming quadriplegic. One of the early quotes in the book: "The church has not been spending its energy to go deep with the unfathomable God of the Bible...the popular God of fun-church is simply too small and too affable to hold a hurricane in his hand." - our churches' modern day view of God is often too narrow; too entertainment focused; too light and shallow. And because of that, the church has in many ways become largely irrelevant to deep suffering.
But now it's time to realize the true power of God and what it really means for Him to be sovereign over everything. It's time to see Him for who He truly is, and to know without a doubt that He is at work in the midst of each and every circumstance.
First chapter: God's sovereignty in relation to Satan.
If you are a Christian, you must believe that God is 1) sovereign, and 2) good. Otherwise, you're not worshiping the right God! If we have professed faith in Jesus, it is through this filter that we should look at God, rather than trying to prove that He is these things. And it is with these lenses that we read what John Piper tells us in this first chapter.
This first chapter is a celebration of God's rule and sovereignty. God isn't merely able to rule all things, He does rule all things. And though Satan is referred to the "ruler of this world" in the Bible, he can do absolutely nothing without God's permission, and must act within God's appointed limits. Each section heading started with, "Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over.."
- Satan's angels: God has complete authority and power over demons and evil spirits. They must obey Him.
- Satan's hand in persecution: "When Satan crushes Christians in the jaws of their own private Calvary, does God not govern those jaws for the good of His precious child?" - "For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil." (1 Peter 3:17)
- Satan's life-taking power: Nothing lives or dies but by God's decree (Deut. 32:39). God makes the final call and our lives are completely in His hands.
- Satan's hand in natural disasters: Rather than focus on Satan's freedom to destroy, we should focus on God's sovereignty in these situations and look for His mercy. "Naked I came from my mother's comb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:20-21)
- Satan's sickness-causing power: Christ's healings are a sign of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God and its final victory over all diseases and works of Satan - God has purchased us this healing through the death of His Son, but we aren't promised the whole inheritance in this life. We pray for healing, yet trust that His answer will be for our good (Romans 8:28).
- Satan's use of animals and plants: Man was given dominion over creation in the beginning, but since the Fall, Satan has used them to attack us. Yet all plants and animals are appointed by God and obedient to Him.
- Satan's temptations to sin: A lot of our suffering comes from sins of others against us and also our own sins. Satan is the tempter, but God is still sovereign over these temptations; nothing happens outside of His plan.
- Satan's mind-blinding power: Satan blinds people from seeing the truth of the Gospel. God chooses to have mercy and to reveal the light to people. He is sovereign and reveals the truth to anyone He chooses to.
- Satan's spiritual bondage: Even though Satan enslaves us with suffering or worldly pleasure, God can grant us repentance and set us free.
So there we have it. If we're going to believe that our God is sovereign, all these must be true. And so we cling to these truths and realize that God is truly in full control.
Next post: Seeing God's gracious hand in the hurt others do to us.
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