S42P5 – Confessions of Psalm 119: God is in control
Psalm 119: 89-91
Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
He was a mighty and faithful man of God who won favor in the eyes of the Lord. He had been blessed with material wealth. He had been blessed with a loving family. He simply had been blessed. Then, in the blink of an eye and without notice, his world changed. The family he loved so much was all but gone, leaving only his wife to be by his side. His riches disappeared. His health became poor. This man was so stricken that even his main support, his wife, begged him to curse God and die. We know the story of Job, and we know the reason behind his suffering. In Job’s eyes, however, it may have seemed like God was not in control at all. After knowing the truth of the situation, we see that God indeed was in control of all of this. He may have allowed the devil’s hand to work in Job’s life, but He clearly and explicitly limited the work of that hand.
When the Psalmist says that all things serve God, he is saying that all things are in submission to him. There is nothing that is outside of the control of God. This does not mean that the Lord causes everything that we see happen around us. This means that He allows certain things to occur but also stays other things altogether. For example, scripture tells us that we will not be tempted beyond what we are able to endure. This is a clear picture of God being in control even of the temptations that come our way. He does not tempt us, but He allows temptation in our lives for his purposes. And if we think that the temptations and struggles that come our way have somehow bypassed God and snuck by the scrimmage line to reach us, we are wrong. In his love and compassion, He holds much back from reaching us in the first place. It is all within his control.
I have heard many people question how God can exist when so much evil happens in the world. They say that it is evidence that God is not real because He does not intervene in all things. I say that if the hand of God were to raise itself from the Earth in full, we would not be able to endure the atrocities that would fill the earth. What we see is what He allows, and He does so for his righteous purposes. We must trust that He is right and just, and we must trust that He is in control. All things must bow down to him, and one day we will see that with our very own eyes. Father, thank You that You remain in control of all things even when it does not appear to be so, and help us trust You in what You allow.