He Does ALL things Well

"For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth...I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone." -Psalm 71:5, 16

This week was a sanctifying reminder for me of the sovereignty of God and the reality that He does do ALL things well.  I found myself broken as I fought to understand what was going on, and yet at peace as I reminded myself of the Truth of my God.


The sovereignty of God is one of the most comforting Truths in all of Scripture.  It seems to encompass so many of His attributes into one (faithfulness, immutability, mercy...).  And yet, although comforting, it boggles our minds.  In our finiteness we often struggle with "why" when things go awry and just don't seem to make any sense.  We see the mess of the threads on the backside of a tapestry and can't imagine the beautiful artwork on the other side.  So, many believers find themselves clumped with the unsaved, and make God into their own image and design and choose to believe that He is not sovereign over all things, and that in the tragedies of life, He too is surprised.  After all, if God is really good, He cannot be sovereign.  These "Christians" and unbelievers fall prey to allowing their emotions (humanity) to inform their theology rather than allowing their theology to inform their emotions (humanity).


Let me share something before I move on to give some perspective...


Tragedy is never timely from our perspective.  Trials are never wished for, and quite frankly, suffering never makes it to the top of our requests when we pray.  I was reminded of this Truth this week as I experienced God's grace in a new and refreshing way.  Wednesday, the 14th, was a celebration of the last 24 years the Lord has given me and a welcoming of the 25th.  Birthdays have always been exciting, celebrative, and happy; and this one was bitter sweet.  Although there was celebration around me, there was sorrow in my heart as a loved one lost someone dear to them that very day.  My thoughts were consummed with death on a day I was supposed to be celebrating birth.  A sobering time of refining was just what the Lord had wanted for that day.  He graciously, in His perfect love, reminded me yet again of a vital lesson- It's not about YOU Vanessa!  This life you've been given, the blessings you have, even your birthday, is NOT about you.  I fought my flesh as I was humbled to tears acknowledging the Truth that it WAS NOT about me, it was ALL ABOUT HIM!  The life I have hear on earth, the last 24 years, today, and how ever many more days I am given is all a gift.  My heart beats simply because the sovereign God sustains it.  The blessings I have been given, my wonderful husband and family, and the list goes on, they aren't things I earned or I deserve, they are all gifts attesting to His goodness and bringing Him glory!  My purpose here, not my own, but HIS.  


And what humbled me the most was the power of the Gospel that saved me!  As I was reminded of the immanency of death and the fact that every individual faces it, I was all the more reminded of my own death, but the promise that although I will experience physical death, I will NEVER experience eternal death because of the cross of Christ.  I am speechless and oh so thankful for that.  For this life He has given me yes, but more importantly for the spiritual life I have been given.  


This birthday, although different then any I have ever experienced, is the BEST I have ever had because for the first time in my life, I was able to celebrate HIM, and not me!


God's sovereignty is a reality whether we want to believe it or not.  For the believer it should be a most precious Truth, a promise that no matter what comes in this life, we can trust and know that He is doing ALL things well, for the glory of His name and for the good of HIS kids.  I am confident that nothing is wasted in the economy of God.  There is purpose to all things.  We may not see it in the moment, we may never even see it on this earth, but He is reigning on HIS throne and providentially orchestrating all things perfectly.  


I am reminded of a song by Chris Tomlin, "You Do ALL Things Well"...and I couldn't say it any better myself, in tragedy and triumph, let our theology inform our feelings, remember His sovereignty, and trust and know that HE DOES ALL THINGS WELL!

A Good Bearean

If I'm being honest, I have to admit that throughout my walk with the Lord, the exhortation and example of the Bereans has always been a struggle for me.  In Acts 17:11 Paul describes them in this way, "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." I can tell you now that if I was sitting under the Apostle Paul's teaching the chances that I would "check" the Scriptures to verify that He truly was speaking Truth are probably slim.  And although Paul was speaking Truth, I marvel at their boldness.  I have always tended to lean on the words written or spoken by trusted individuals, whether it be my pastor, or a pastor I highly respect, my dad, or now my husband, or some author from the past or present who has proven their character.  Although this is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, especially because God has given us men and women who are farther along in the faith then we are to encourage and teach us, it poses a threat to our own spiritual growth and development.  The Bereans weren't examining the Scriptures looking for some fault in the message of Paul, they were simply being obedient students of the Word, and allowing the Word of God to be the final authority in their life.  A good example for us to follow indeed.


Recently, I have challenged myself to be more of a Berean, a better student of the Word.  In doing this I have reaped rich benefits.  And although I am still a student of many who are solid in the faith, I have vowed to make the authority of Scripture, and the Word of God, be the final authority in my life.  This may sound arrogant, but believe me, it is far from that.  I do not think I have the power to interpret the Scripture better than someone like John MacArthur, but I do believe that the Spirit of God will build upon the words I read or hear from men like John MacArthur with the Word of God, which is the foundation of what we believe.  It IS the Truth, and it is living and active.  


I am fully dependent on the Word of God to change my life and although I am beyond grateful for the men and women of past and present, I am certain that it is through the Word of God spoken or read that my life will continue to become more and more conformed to the Son of God.


So I challenge each of you, be a good Berean, examine the Word, be a student, don't take everything you read as the Gospel Truth, but rather test it to make sure it is what God has said and not what man believes it to say.