We need to hold onto the truth that God is sovereign, that even through hardships he is working what is good. If we don’t, when hardship comes we will either label God impotent (by blaming the evil) or we’ll question his goodness.

Imagine you wake up early in the morning and tuning into the radio you hear of an incident that took place in the night. You hear the reporter saying that they have never seen something like it before. All the bars and nightclubs have burned up and no one was hurt. Knowing what happens at bars and nightclubs, if you’re a Christian you would probably rejoice; you’d praise our sovereign God. ‘Thank God something happened to those places. Now our young people won’t be wandering around in them.’ We will say that God did something in the night. We’d praise him in the morning.

Now imagine a different scenario. Another morning. You wake up to the news that your government wants to stop the gatherings of believers. I am sure that we’d come together and pray against such a thing. We might even be tempted to say that the devil is at work.

So, who’s in control when major events happen? Do we attribute the good to God and the bad to the devil? Well, the devil is undoubtedly at work. And we know that he opposes God, both his plans and his people. While Jesus gives new life, in abundance, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10-11). Does this make our world a kind of cosmic wrestling match? Should we attribute bad things to God? Or can we just blame it on the devil? In this article I’m going to argue that God uses everything for his purposes, whether good or bad. Nothing falls outside of his power or plans. He is sovereign over everything he made.

Who Stands Above Suffering and Evil?

When we only attribute good things to God’s action, we limit him. For it implies that God is powerless to prevent bad things. In fact, by doing this we give power over to the enemy. We share God’s sovereignty with the evil one.

Now, consider the biblical witness. Scripture contains countless stories of people experiencing hardship, even immense suffering (Job 1:14-19). Were these things to happen to us we’d be tempted to say God doesn’t love us; or that he doesn’t care about his people. We rightly associate God with power and protection, preventing harm. However, the men and women who endure tremendous suffering in the Bible often recognise God’s control. They entrust themselves to his sovereignty. They cling onto God’s love when they don’t necessarily understand his purposes.

As Job cried out, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20-21). Joseph understood, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20a). Neither deny God’s sovereignty. Nor do they question his goodness. Instead they understand that God is in control.

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