The world is–after all - not out of control

Last night, after a lively work-committee meeting by the leaders of our mums and toddlers church-group, I caught a lift home with Laura.  We shared a bit of our lives with each other and then – what still shocks us even after 5 years – the reality-story of our son, Michael’s death came up.   I tried to sketch the outline briefly in our short journey from St Albans to Hatfield.   And once again, in the light of the mega suffering, the big hole, God’s sovereignty just came through powerfully.

How safe we felt with our Father then and now.  Christians who bow the knee to our Lord’s sovereignty will know exactly what we mean. 


Christians who mourn, Christians who submit to our “God-in-charge”s ultimately good plans  know that deep, deep security:   a total safety in sheltering with a 100% sovereign Protector and a 100% compassionate Father.  

Here is a photo of our son, Michael before he got cancer of the spine (Ewings Sarcoma) and died (physically only) 5 years ago.

Everlasting thanks be to Jesus – and to the Holy Spirit who shows us the great plans of salvation and our sovereign Saviour!

Here are the notes I jotted down while listening to PJ Smyth from Johannesburg in South Africa.  It was all bout God’s sovereignty.

Some points shone like the noon-day sun (in South Africa, not in the UK!)  At least not as in the UK, today :)

• God is wonderfully sovereign:  the world is not out of control.
• The thought of God not being sovereign, is horrific. 
• Praying to a sovereign God is not pointless.  Prayer counts and brings an outcome.    Pray, ask, knock, push, but thank God that He does not answer all our prayers. (Example: “Strike my boss down!”)
• Don’t prematurely judge what God is doing in your life. 
• God’s definition of best is BEST not best.  
• God wants more for us than giving us gifts: He wants us to grow in the image of the Giver. 
• Wow!  I worship a sovereign, huge, large, in charge God! This is my Abba:  big, strong and sovereign.  His ways are WAY higher than mine.
• There’s nothing that we have that He did not give to us.  Take the next breath – from a sovereign God! 
• The Potter can exist just fine without the clay.  This can be hard for a modern individualistic humanistic mind to acknowledge, I’m not actually at the centre of the universe – a sovereign God is. 
• The sovereign God cannot be domesticated:  He’s not your slot-machine, yours sugar daddy or a cosmic father Christmas.  He is our sovereign!

Pictures of God’s sovereignty in Revelation 19:

• See how this sovereign God loves us: Jesus takes the beatings for us, pays the price of sin with His life, while we were still His enemies.

God’s sovereignty..

• makes us want to worship Him!
• provokes our confidence and humility.

“If you get God, you get everything.”  

If you wish, (and I so wish that you do wish!),  check out Godfirst Church in Johannesburg

Verse 1 Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

^{Verse 6} Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
^{Verse 11 to 16}  I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron sceptre.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

And lastly, one click to take you to  one of "those" questions.