To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints. – J. I. Packer, in Knowing God
For those who don’t know God, the idea that nothing – nothing – happens outside His will is a most dreadful thought. It’s unsettling, isn’t it, to realize you’re not the captain of your own ship? But for you and me, who’ve been brought by grace to trust in Jesus, this truth is like a warm blanket on a cold winter night. It steadies us. It holds us fast.
I remember one summer afternoon playing golf with a friend. In the distance we could see the huge storm coming, so we finished the hole we were on and decided to call it a day. I was about halfway home when bolts of lightning began dancing and lighting up the darkening sky. Not even two minutes later, the rain was falling so hard that I literally couldn’t see ten feet in front of me with my wipers going at max speed. I pulled off onto the shoulder of the road and waited with my hazard lights on. It would be 45 minutes before the rain and wind let up enough for me to safely resume my journey home.
Sometimes life is like that. You’re enjoying a nice round of golf with your friend, the sun is out and the birds are chirping away. An hour later you’re hunkered down in your car and looking up into the heavens, wandering if you’re gonna make it through. Maybe it’s a health scare. Or a prodigal child. Or a job that has become too much like a prison sentence. In those moments, the temptation is to think, “God is totally oblivious to my situation.” But Packer is reminding us that God’s will is never absent, is never asleep, and is never caught off guard. Every single thing in this universe, from the sparrow’s fall to the rise and fall of nations, is under the sovereign hand of the God who loves you with an everlasting love. And that, my friends, is not a truth to make you tremble; it’s a truth to make you sing!
You see, the God who positioned each and every star in the heavens and calls them by name – He’s the same God who knows the number of hairs on your head. His will isn’t some sort of impersonal mechanical blueprint; it’s the purposeful, loving plan of a Father who’s working all things together for your good and His glory. He has a plan for you. And it’s a wonderful plan, even though some days it might not seem like it.
So when the storms come, don’t wring your hands and say, “Why can’t I catch a break?” Instead, lift your eyes to Him and say, “I don’t know why I’m going through this Lord, but I know You are with me and I’ll trust you no matter what.”
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
~ Psalm 33:6-9
Former Blackout Artist 