This is God's World

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As I’m sure you’ve seen, NASA’s Artemis II mission around the moon has produced photos that are simply breathtaking. The photo above of Earth from the rocket’s perspective is stunning. But it also reminds us how small we really are. I watched a clip of a podcast the other day when one man was speaking about how he thinks it’s arrogant to say you understand God enough because “we’re ants” in the grand scheme of things. Yes, we’re ants — but “ants” loved and cared for by God.

This is why David, in Psalm 8:3-4, proclaimed “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” It’s quite easy to recognize how small we are in comparison to the vastness of the universe. Though small we are, God still has affection for us. He still cares for us. He still loves us. He still moves in our lives. He’s not the god of Deism which claims God created the world and is letting everything play out and doesn’t intervene. That’s not the god of the Bible. The God of Scripture, the one true and living God, is not only present, but in absolute control — wholly sovereign over all things.

“To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless,” wrote J.I. Packer, “but it stabilizes the saints.” We must remember that this world is God’s world. All things—from the raging of seas, the chirping of birds, the sounds of engines, the whistling of trees, and everything in between—are all subject to the divine will and sovereignty of our Lord.

And that scares unbelievers. That even frightens some Christians. But it shouldn’t. The complete control of God over the cosmos is the most comforting doctrine in the Christian faith—definitely for those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. “People treat God’s sovereignty as a matter of controversy,” Packer wrote, “but Scripture it is a matter of worship.” The sovereignty of God, as Packer mentioned previously, should stabilize our hearts, minds, and wills.

We can walk through life in union with Christ—amid our own valleys and peaks—and know that our Lord is in control of every last thing. And not only is he in control of everything, but he has specifically made everything happen for our good and his glory (Rom. 8:28). Everything we go through has a purpose. Nothing is in vain.

Believing in the sovereignty of God over all things doesn’t take any pain or heartache away, but it helps us find comfort in the one who has a reason for it. We trust that the Lord is sanctifying us through our trial or triumph. Life will continue to be treacherous at times, but we know Gos remains on the throne and in control of everything. To borrow from the late RC Sproul, “there are no maverick molecules.”

As I lay my head on my pillow each night, I can be comforted that my God is sovereign, that he controls all things, that nothing happens apart from his will. It assured my heart that everything’s going to be okay. Again, that doesn’t mean we won’t experience suffering. Those moments will come our way just as we live in this world and as Christians. But we know there’s a divine purpose in our suffering. We know God is in control of it all, working it for our good and his glory.