God's Sovereignty Over Suffering

I woke up in the middle of the night early last week and I couldn't move my neck. The pain was excruciating. I was able to lay back down and fall asleep but whenever I woke up I could barely move, the pain was so bad. It became so bad in recent days that I couldn't sleep on either side and only on my back for an hour or two at a time without shooting pain. I believe I had (have) multiple muscle spasms in my neck, but am thinking something else might be wrong as well. On top of this, I started working full-time last Monday and so I dragged myself to work each day, popping pain killers and putting a heating pad on during the day at work.

This kind of pain isn't something that I'm unfamiliar with. I've had neck/back problems for the past 15-20 years, and have been to numerous chiropractors, and even did a few months of physical therapy at Sister Kenny Institute about two years ago. But this has probably been the worst because of the intensity and the fact that it doesn't seem to be going away. I had to call in sick on Monday so I could go to the doctor. He gave me some muscle relaxants and pain pills and scheduled an MRI of my neck for this Friday.

Which brings me to my point on God's sovereignty over suffering. It is such a comfort to me to know that God is sovereign over my pain. And I don't just mean that He can heal me if He wants, but rather that He is ordaining/allowing this for my ultimate good (Romans 8:28), my ultimate sanctification, and for His glory. And that this is not just some random occurance based on the condition of muscles, connective tissue and nerves throughout my body, (though that is most probably the second cause of my pain) but that God is the ultimate cause, working it for good.

"Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good." - 1 Peter 4:19

"Who has spoken and it came to pass unless the LORD commanded it. Is it not from the Most High that good and bad happen?" - Lamentations 3:37-38

"....we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5

I want to write more on God's sovereignty through suffering, but my time is limited, so I'll write more next time.

God's Sovereignty

One of the things I've learned in the past 5-6 years that has humbled me and grown my faith in Christ a lot is coming to understand the Biblical truth of God's Sovereignty in every area of life, and particularly in my own salvation. Looking back at my belief system before my insomnia episode, I think that a very big part of the reason that I didn't think that God was really in tune with me and what I was going through is because I didn't understand His sovereignty in my being saved. I thought of the gospel call as sort of this impersonal offer going out to all people everywhere, and whoever decided to believe it and receive it would have eternal life.

Now, while there's definately truth to that. The thing that I didn't understand back then was that the Bible makes it clear that aside from God's Spirit working in us, none of us would turn to Jesus and receive Him by faith, and so God is very intentional in His grace toward sinners.

"The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one." -Psalm 14:2

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed." - John 3:19-20

There is so much Scripture that speaks of our rebellion, and the fact that none of us would choose to turn to Christ unless a work of grace on God's part takes place first. In the next verse (21) of the John passage I just quoted, John says:

"But whoever does what is true, comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."

It was when I began to truly grasp how personal and intentional this was on God's part that my faith in Christ and all His promises has grown, including the promise to bring to completion the salvation that He began in me (Phil 1:6).

This was a very eye-opening experience for me. At first I didn't think it fair on God's part. But as I studied Scripture, I began to see how truly depraved we are as sinners, and that it is God's sheer grace that saves any of us.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...even as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world."- Eph 1:3-4

"You did not choose me, but I chose you." - John 15:16