From our General Superintendent

The Randomness of Sovereignty

DAVID WELLS

“In some of the earliest historical records we have in Scripture, we find the covenantal persons such as Abraham and Isaac, Job, and Moses all wrestling with the sovereign will of God.”

I am currently on a journey that many people go on annually. This adventure involves reading the entire Bible during the calendar year. As you read it chronologically, one has a heavy initial engagement with Genesis, Exodus and Job.

Pondering the purposes of God and studying His involvement with Job, Abraham and Isaac, Moses, and others, has, once again, stirred up the marvel I experience at what I call “The Randomness of Sovereignty.” This is not a disrespectful nor theologically aberrant concept. It is my way of acknowledging that the Sovereign, Almighty Holy One’s ways do not always align with what would seem logical to us, nor are they the result of a straight cause-and-effect formula. The biblical characters are often surprised by the unexpected tests and challenges they are called to endure or by the undeserved, lavish blessings they experience.

In some of the earliest historical records we have in Scripture, we find the covenantal persons such as Abraham and Isaac, Job, and Moses all wrestling with the sovereign will of God. Think of the random day Abraham faces as he is called to take the promised son of the covenant, Isaac, to the place of sacrifice—human sacrifice! We have the advantage of knowing the whole story, but during our lifetimes, we do not always know the end of our story as we trust God’s promises to be fulfilled in our lives.

The story of Job is the ageless account of a life of blessing devastated by unimaginable loss, compounded by judgmental advisors. If we are to be fair, they are only viewing his circumstances through the cause-and-effect lens that many of us might apply to such a scenario. Additionally, the Lord God gives Job a very thorough vetting regarding his beliefs and practices, ensuring Job emerges from the experience with not only restored family, lands and possessions but also deepened knowledge of who the Almighty is.

We draw wise perspective from the prophetic literature of Isaiah 55. It provides foundational principles that hold in the middle of this walk of faith we are called to, a walk filled with the mystery of tests and blessings, disappointments and joy.

The timeless call to us is to surrender our ways and thoughts to the Lord from the very beginning of our faith journey when amazing grace is experienced. We abandon mindsets rooted in our humanity and sinfulness. Our ways and thoughts “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In Isaiah 55:7, we read:

Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Our 180-degree turnaround leads us to trust our ways and thoughts to the Lord. As new creations in Christ, we have transformed lives and thinking. We have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Nonetheless, as alluded to in Isaiah 55:8-9, we are finite; the Lord is infinite. We are limited; He is omnipotent:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Our security is in the confidence that The Lord’s will and purposes in our lives will be fulfilled. As the One who is from everlasting to everlasting, His integrity is made known when He fulfils His purposes.

The psalmist notes:

May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions (Psalm 20:4-5, NKJV).

Serving as an anchor for us, the Prophet Isaiah reinforces the understanding that the Lord’s will shall be accomplished:

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11).

We are not pawns in a cosmic game. It is true that we live lives that seem above and beyond our comprehension in multiple contexts. Yet, we can be confident that with our lives placed in the sovereign oversight of the One who loves us and has intervened on our behalf, we will fulfil the purpose for which we’ve been created and know life, life to the full, now and forever.

Daily, I pray this prayer as a reminder of the One who is over all, and who is my foundation through all the sovereign adventures of life, even when they seem random:

Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth, I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:1-2, NKJV).

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