Discovery #19: The Sovereignty of God Conundrum? (Part 2)

The Practicalities of Sovereignty

I hope my previous discussion helped provide some measure of comfort and assurance. If not, did it raise new questions about the challenges some perceive God has in preserving His sovereignty? (Like there’s a problem beyond God’s ability to solve!) It may not seem important at first, but in the grand scheme of things, God’s preservation of His sovereignty is critical to our survival, happiness, and eternal position in heaven. The practical implications of what the act of creation set in motion are absolutely astounding! It sent out tidal waves that (for centuries) led scholars to question how God’s sovereignty could be protected in a world where both humanity and Satan were free to do (pretty much) whatever they desired. Below is a list of just some of the thoughts that have created controversy among scholars for millennia:

• It opened up a door for Satan to reject God. Once Adam was created in God’s image, Satan presumably got jealous. He saw that God was creating an offspring that would eventually share a God-like status with Him, and Satan felt he was more qualified for the position. We know what happened after that. Satan led Adam and Eve into sin. Since that time, he has been throwing one monkey wrench after another into our lives, trying to destroy our relationship with God and get us to reject our inheritance. However, we can take comfort in knowing that God knows how it will end, and Satan does not. Therefore, Satan does not threaten God’s sovereignty.
• It opened up a door for other angels who sided with Satan to reject God and join his demonic team. It’s amazing to me that God loved His angels enough to give even them the right to reject Him. Although deeply disappointing to God (but not unexpected), it did not weaken His hold over creation.
• It opened up a door for any human to reject God by buying into the same lie as Adam and Eve—that you, too, can be like God. Any faithful student of the Bible knows that “the created” can never replace “the creator.” Many of those who tried will learn how true that saying is when they stand before their maker!
• It made it possible for humanity to learn and grow. We all know that what we get out of this life is directly related to what we put into it and how we respond to it. That combination makes it possible for each person and generation to do better than those who preceded them. This process is called growth. If you doubt its importance, look at how far we’ve come since Adam. Not all of it has been good, but the journey has been impressive! God truly did create us as “fearfully and wonderfully made” creatures!   Psalm 139: 14 NCV

The first three paths had one thing in common—they allowed various members of God’s creation to reject Him and deny His sovereignty at a point in time.  Each party chooses to bet everything on their ability to overcome the creator. God knew that was never going to happen! God always has and always will be in control! Neither humanity, nor Satan, nor the angels can threaten God (in part) because we all operate under the limitation of time. God does not. Therefore, God will always see and know exactly what we are going to do before the thought even crosses our minds.

To have free will, or not to have it?

That is the question! The argument in favor reasons that just because God knows everything we will ever do, does not mean that God must act to neutralize all our free will decisions. Because God lives outside of time, and because He created us, He knows exactly how and in what form we will respond to having a free will choice. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans, God can do whatever He wants to do, and it does not (always) depend on what others want.

¹⁵ God said to Moses, “I will show kindness to anyone to whom I want to show kindness, and I will show mercy to anyone to whom I want to show mercy.” ¹⁶ So God will choose the one to whom he decides to show mercy; his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do. Romans 9: 15 NCV

The principle at work here is simple: Since God created time, everyone who lives within time is under God’s control. Yet, God does not exert His control all the time (pardon the pun). Instead, He utilizes what I call “Time Tweaks” that give God the freedom to intervene—for our individual or collective good. For those who say God must always exercise His sovereignty; otherwise, He is not God, I say, “No, that is not how God works.” I believe that God chooses to exercise His sovereignty whenever it suits His purpose because He knows that this approach demonstrates even greater power. Why? I have a couple of reasons:

1. If He were to exercise His sovereignty at all times, nothing would ever get out of His control, and the world we would live in would reflect His perfection (like it did in the Garden of Eden). Clearly, that is not the case. And the further the world drifts away from Him, the more power it will take to bring it back. Thus, His power is made more impressive by allowing His creation to deviate from His control (Think about it).
2. God chooses to be the parent, not the dictator. Although imperfect, our parents are (in one sense) the “first cause” to us (just as God is the first cause of everything). And, for a time, they had absolute sovereignty over us. But any good parent knows that if you try and control your children and not allow them to express themselves and find who they are, they will rebel. As the saying goes, “If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, you have found true love.” Thus, I believe that God exercises His sovereignty in the same way. He has let us go into a world where He has also allowed Satan to reign. He does this so we will learn and appreciate good (God) from evil (Satan). God does not give up His sovereignty to do this (any more than a good parent does). He knows exactly when He will exert His control to achieve His purposes. He always has the absolute authority to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants (i.e., God’s “Time tweaks”). In all cases, God’s prime objective is for us to learn and grow (hopefully in ways that bring us closer to Him). Take, for example, the story of Jonah. We all know that Jonah exercised his free will choice to not go to Nineveh, yet God intervened and put him in the belly of a whale for three days to convince him to change his mind. God did not interfere with Jonah’s ability to make a free-will choice; He just did something to help him change his mind. This “time tweak” intervention by God seems like something a loving parent would do for a rebellious child to help them learn. OK, I admit not many parents would choose to put their child in the belly of a whale, but it worked. God just has more training options at His disposal!

What about pain and suffering?

Is God still sovereign IF He allows pain, suffering, and wars in the world? Look at what God told Isaiah, the prophet:

⁷   I made the light and the darkness. I bring peace, and I cause troubles. I, the Lord, do all these things…

⁹   “How terrible it will be for those who argue with the God who made them.  They are like a piece of broken pottery among many pieces. The clay does not ask the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ The thing that is made doesn’t say to its maker, ‘You have no hands.’ Isaiah 45:7, 9 NCV

The first answer to this question is—TRUST GOD! He knows what He is doing, and He will always do what is right and loving for us. God sees every tear, he feels every pain, but unlike us, He knows how it will all end. The advantage God has by operating outside of time without being encumbered by it (like we are) cannot be underestimated or understood. And, lest we still question God on this, look what He told His prophet Jeremiah:

¹¹ I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. Jeremiah 29:11 NCV

Pain, suffering, disease, poverty, war, and all the things that happen to test us in this life often serve as the catalyst for motivating us to do better (In fact, most would agree that we accomplish more and greater things when we’re responding to adversity rather than to calm times). As a result of these trials:

• People dedicate their lives to helping those affected by such suffering.
• People invent things that correct, fix, or help make such suffering unnecessary (or at least less traumatic). Many of the greatest inventions came about in an attempt to correct, fix, or help a problem in the world.
• Governments and institutions often work collectively or independently to address and correct the injustices, sufferings, and inequalities that affect this world.
• Humanity tries (with varying results) to learn, grow, and (hopefully) work together to make things better (at least, that is the optimistic view).

The apostle Paul said it this way: “The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us.” (Romans 8:18 NCV). Yet, in times of suffering and trouble, when we just don’t know what to do, “the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain.” (Romans 8:26 NCV). For those of us old enough to remember Bill Keane (a cartoonist who penned the strip Family Circus), he once said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” I like this because I have learned that many days that I thought were pretty bad at the time now seem like they were gifts. My complaints turned into blessings as the pain of the moment turned out to be a catalyst for growth and learning that (eventually) made me a better person.

Of all the things that cause us pain, love is often at the root. It has been said that “It is far better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” Still, love brings with it a mixture of emotions that usually culminates in grief when our loved one is lost. And the greater the love, the more grief we experience—especially when that love is lost via death, forced separation (like an accident or terrible event), or changed hearts we cannot control. Love can make us bitter, or love can make us stronger. God knows that love is the most powerful force we have for molding ourselves into the best version of ourselves. And all this takes time!

Unfortunately, when greed, personal interests, lust for power, and (in general) sin dominate our lives, pain and suffering are the outcome. The focus on self forces out any concern for others. Some ask why God would allow such people to inflict so much harm. The only answer is—God sees all and knows how it will all end. When God feels an intervention is warranted, He does so. But He does it in ways we usually don’t see (a policy that seems different from what He did in the Old Testament, where He had many grand and very visible gestures).  His priority is usually aligned to provide us with the maximum opportunity to learn. Often, He wants to see what we will do about something vs. asking what He will do about it. At the same time, God takes care of all those who suffer in ways we’ll never know or understand this side of heaven.  Again, a special advantage He has by operating outside the boundaries of time.

In short—God knows what He is doing! The rest of us can play “Monday morning quarterbacks” all we want, but we will never see what God sees, much less have the ability to either correct or fix them like God can. We are just being washed down the stream of time. We can’t swim upstream, and we cannot see what is around the next bend—we can only react to what is happening at the moment. And that, my dear friends, is at least part of what makes God our sovereign God who is always acting in love on our behalf.

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