Clinging to God's Sovereignty

Since the beginning of the year we’ve been plagued by long delays with renewing our passports, getting our current volunteer visa stamped in our new passports and then waiting for approval on our visa renewal application. Due to these inexplicable delays we have had to cancel several ministry trips and our primary ministry format has come to a grinding halt. While we floundered emotionally with these changes, we kept plowing ahead on preparations for upcoming training with the faith that in time, surely, these delays would come to an end.

While I know I can trust God and his perfect planning, I’ve wrestled periodically with doubts. Maybe I’ve done something that put ministry on hold? Maybe I haven’t been praying enough? During worship, prayer times, and preparation these niggling thoughts were usually put to bed, and I was able to move forward quite confidently in spite of repeated disappointments. I appreciated the extra space for rest, relaxation, unhurried Bible study, and creative writing time. In fact, both Randy and I have been feeling quite refreshed. Periodically the doubts roused themselves from their slumber and attempted to intrude into my rest. However, clinging to God’s sovereignty sent them packing.

And then, as quickly as you can say “God’s sovereignty,” all of God’s omniscient wisdom and planning became clear. One phone call from Randy’s mom explained God’s creative delays which positioned us to be at home and readily available to fly back to the States to support her through pending surgery and recovery. Without the delay in passports, and visas we would be somewhere in the middle of Mozambique with our truck when Randy’s mother really needed our physical presence with her. And our delays ensured that most of course planning and teaching preparation was done ahead of time so that we could travel to assist her.

And the elusive work visas? The day after the phone call, we went to Home Affairs to find that our visas were ready – Say what??? The countless delays had conditioned us to be prepared to do “battle,” but the victory was won as soon as God said the word!

So, we are a living documentation to confirm once again that we can cling to God’s sovereignty in trying times of questions, doubts, and delays. We can confidently send doubts back to their resting place. And we can wait in tiptoe expectation for the unfolding of God’s surprises in his precise timing.

God’s Grip on Sovereignty

We had the privilege of attending a “spiritual gathering” that was radically different than our traditional church. Yes, the music was way too loud for our “ancient” ears, but the youth were passionately engaged, expressing a longing after seeing God’s Kingdom extended in their generation. The preacher openly addressed sexual purity. While old timers shifted around a bit uncomfortably, most of us welcomed someone with courage enough to challenge Christians with healthy sexual restraint. The speaker humorously highlighted the strangeness of some of our “normal” spiritual practices, and his message conveyed thought provoking interpretations of very familiar Scriptures. He even dared to end the service without an altar call and instead we held hands and lifted our voices in passionate prayer for the persons on our right and left. Strange, but challenging!

And God did amazing things in this strange atmosphere! Isn’t it remarkable that God can do stunning things without our traditions, without our organization, or without our church? This Kingdom thing is a God thing, not a man thing, much to our chagrin! We can so easily shift subtly into the idea that we have a corner on truth or even a monopoly on God’s strategy and become quite arrogant servants.

I love the fact that God never allows one man or one organization or one church to have a monopoly on success. He even seems eager to launch surprise “nobodies” into effective ministries in places where others have failed or plateaued. He seems to delight in surprising us with shocking new approaches. What a King! He is still very much in charge and exercising his sovereignty in surprising ways to extend his rule into the hearts of all men everywhere. Lord, may we see more surprises! We love your sovereignty.

Obnoxious Commercials & God’s Ways

Maybe you too have been annoyed by the loud commercials that explode onto your TV while you’re watching your favorite program. The commercials insist on our attention and force their message on its captive audience. Do you need a lawyer to represent you? I’m sure you do, so call now! How about some newly improved garbage bags to enhance the quality of your life and rid you of the inconvenience of collapsing bags? Some of us have become quite adept at using the mute button, but even that can’t hide the visual effect of some commercials. Even the Senate has been called on to help out with this daily irritation. Some sage politician has put a bill before the Senate to force TV advertisers to lower the volume of their advertisements to a normal level.

God’s communications methods are in extreme contrast, God speaks gently and quietly to us. He never insists on our attention or pushes his way into our home. He stands quietly waiting at the door to be invited in. And when he is invited in, he meekly and gently invites us to choose to give him our attention. He doesn’t raise his voice or shout for our attention.

And God never pushes us to “buy” something that we clearly don’t need. Yes, he has the greatest treasure available to man and offers solutions to every single problem. But he’s put his offer in a book that we choose to pick up; and we choose to read; and we choose to search. And he comes close when we are in need and waits for us to invite his help.

This really puts the onus on me to seek him out and to listen to his whisper. His counsel is a valuable resource available to me at the cost of listening time and quiet exploration of his Word. He’s always ready with a word of encouragement, but waits in the periphery for me to seek him out. He has the greatest plans for my life and ministry, but never shoves them in my face. He waits for me to seek his counsel.

This also puts the onus on me to represent God’s invitation appropriately to other people without loud insistence and high powered salesman tactics. I know who the Treasure is and I know he’s more valuable than anything any person could pursue here on earth. As God’s representative I can help others to discover the treasure for themselves without pushing past the present level of interest and without intimidation. No loud Gospel commercials, just patient discussion and gentle answers.

We know what annoys us about commercials and we know what delights us about God. I revel in God’s ways and long to be quickly responsive to his quiet voice. And I pray that no one needs to propose a bill to God to quiet those obnoxious noisy Christians.