Charles Allen was a pastor in Houston for many years. In one of his books of sermons, he told the story of a Norwegian fisherman, his wife, and two young sons who lived in a delightful cottage on a cliff overlooking the North Sea. Each morning, his wife, Ingrid, watched from the cottage as her husband and their sons they took their fishing boat into the fog. Fishing was how they made their living.
But one day the man and his sons went out too far. A storm came up and the waves were crashing over their little boat. The men were sure that they were going to drown. And somehow in the storm, their compass had broken too. As nightfall came, it was so dark that they could not tell whether they were going out to sea or back to land. The father and his sons were desperately lost!
Then, suddenly in the storm there was a glow in the distance. The man and his sons aimed their boat toward the light. The father and his sons were overjoyed when they found that the glow was from the cliff above the sea. God, in His mercy, had saved their lives!
When they arrived, Ingrid met them at the dock. But instead of being happy, she was in despair. The same storm that had nearly drowned them was the same storm that had sent lightning to their cottage on the cliffs. Their home had burned to the ground. Ingrid was devastated with the loss and angry at God.
But then, her husband told her his side of the story. He told Ingrid how they were grateful for the fire because it guided them to shore in the fog. He summarized it this way: “My dear wife, what you thought was a tragedy was God’s rescue for us. The lightning was a blessing from God. It saved my life and it saved our sons’ lives! Thank God for the fire!” When Ingrid heard this, she joined her husband in gratitude to God for the fire.
Folks, this is the wonderful thing about God. Hard things turn out to be good things when God is working in our lives. What we think of as tragedy is the very thing that God uses for good! God uses our heartaches and hurts for a greater good. Some of us are out of work or out of money or both. Some of us have a wayward child, a problem person, a disease, an illness, some tragedy, an injustice, or the death of a loved one that is hard to take. All of us in one way or another are dealing with this Covid-19 thing, the politics, the nation, the cities, and the world. It can feel like the everything is a mess. Well, it is not! God is in control! He has not forsaken us!
It is vital that we remember one important and familiar verse. It is Romans 8:28 which says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” When you know that God is sovereign, you will believe that He knows what is best in “all things.”
When God is in charge of your life, nothing is an accident! You will believe that God has a purpose in everything. Worry wastes energy on the things you can't control. Peace comes when you leave everything in God's hands. Remember that quite often, the best lessons that we can learn are on the road to a place we never intended to go but God in His sovereignty meant it to be.
My dad had a poem he often recited about the sovereignty of God. It says:
God is on the throne
And He takes care of His own.
Though problems beset us and trials distress us,
He never will leave us alone!!
A.W. Tozer put it this way: “God dwells in eternity, but time dwells in God. He has already lived all our tomorrows as He has lived all our yesterdays."
So trust in God’s eternal purpose. He is weaving the events of your life into a gorgeous tapestry. Rest in His sovereignty and trust in His control!
One of my favorite verses that has helped me in my walk with Christ in the last few years is Psalm 18:30. It says:
"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him."
Whatever you are facing, God is always working in them. God knows about your hurts, disappointments, tragedies, and problems. You may not see God and He may not be moving as fast as you would like but He is working even now. There is no need to despair because God is at work right now in your life. He has not abandoned you and He never will. He knows what the ideal way is for us. Our heartaches are His highways and our trials are His trails to peace, fulfillment, and blessing. He works things together for our good and His glory. So, dear friend, trust in God’s sovereign will for your life. He always has your best interest in His heart. God’s way for you is perfect! It may not seem like it all the time, but it is!
And God’s way for East Hills Community Church is perfect too. He has just the right pastor coming. We don’t know his name yet or what he looks like. And we don’t know how long it will take to find him. But we know that God has His hand on our future. Believe it and trust Him. We know that God is working because He has done it in the past. We must believe that He is doing it again. God’s way is perfect!
So, we can rest in the sovereignty of God on this too. God has a perfect plan and a purpose for our church, our nation, and our lives. We just need to trust the Lord for the road ahead. God will supply all our needs. God will guide us!
Psalm 48:14 says: “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide …”
I love being your pastor!
Pastor Mark Platt