As we see the pictures and videos still coming in from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, it is almost unfathomable. The heartbreaking stories of lost lives, homes just washed away, whole towns wiped out, and still so many missing!
I can certainly understand how people are questioning the “why” of it.
When tragedy strikes we often hear well meaning folks attribute these events to the “Sovereignty of God.”
It is truly a tragedy that this ideology is mainly coming from the church, the body of Christ. That God is responsible for, or at the very least, in agreement with all the bad things happening in the world.
I read a disturbing news story recently about a road rage shooting of a 19 year old boy, and someone was quoted as saying they didn’t understand why God would choose to take him home in such a violent way, and at such a young age.
I realize that much of this doctrine arrives from this “sovereignty of God” teaching that I also grew up with, and is still so prevalent in many churches, and it seems sacrilegious to even suggest otherwise.
Yet, it is on my heart to counter this teaching with the word of God. His truth. His heart.
The truth is, God is good, and the Devil is bad. Jesus declares in John 10:10 that, “The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that may have it more abundantly.” Notice that He didn’t say that, “they WILL have life…”
Jesus has provided it, but we have free will to believe, choose and act on that belief.
In the Old Testament we were under a different covenant with God. Even though in Gen. Cpt. 1,God had given mankind dominion over the earth that He had created, we turned that God given authority/dominion/power over to Satan in Gen. Cpt. 2.
Now God IS sovereign in the sense that He IS GOD and there is NO other like Him! But in His sovereignty He gave us dominion over the earth, and the free will to choose. Life or death. Blessing or cursing. (Deut. 30:19) And “He honors His word above His name.” Psalm 138:2
Yet, in His foreknowledge He knew what Adam and Eve would do, and that we would need a Savior. So He had a plan.
He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in our place, took all of our sins upon Himself and made a way for us (mankind) to be reconciled back to God through faith in Jesus. His precious blood paid the price for our redemption, God made peace with the world, but that does not mean that every person will choose to make peace with God. Every person who choses to become a child of God, (John Chapter 1), will receive eternal redemption through Christ Jesus.
Now, we still live in a fallen world, and men’s hearts are evil, and even though the Lord made away for mankind to be redeemed in the Spirit, the world has not been redeemed yet. The earth is not evolving into better, rather on the contrary, the earth is breaking down, things are quickly spiraling out of control. (I am not even going there about global warming, except to say I don’t agree with it.)
We are in a spiritual battle.
Now, not everything that happens is spiritual, but neither should we attribute everything to just the physical realm either. You know, Jesus rebuked the storm that threatened the lives of the disciples, if God was behind the storm, then Jesus would not have been our of order to rebuke it. “Satan cannot cast out Satan.”
God/Jesus knew how he created the elements of the world and He called it “good.” Maybe, we need a refresher course on what the difference is between “good and evil.” (You know, sickness is not a blessing, but that’s another column.)
The earth is now out of order, and the Bible describes it as birth pains growing more and more severe as we approach the end times. (Matt: 24:7-9)
Likewise, the hearts of men are inherently evil, we are all born with a sin nature, and the love of many will grow cold. Thus, today we hear about the acts of evil. Especially, against our children- born and unborn. These are not the acts of God.
I do not have room in this column to expand on this, but God is doing everything within His will to help us, without over powering our own free of choice.
In truth, through the atonement of Christ He has already provided for all of our needs here, complete salvation which includes healing, deliverance, provision, and for the born again children of God- filed with His Holy Spirit- the power and authority to rebuke the works of darkness.
We have dear friends who live in Clearwater Florida, and they were able to evacuate off of the beach a little farther inland, yet they were still facing a life threatening 10-15 ft. storm surge prediction from Hurricane Milton. We (and many others), prayed against the power of the Hurricane, and rebuked that storm surge, and that wall of water did not happen. Praise God!
(Now, I now this statement/testimony opens a lot of questions. I am still growing in the knowledge of what God has provided for us here in His promises, and learning how to exercise my faith to see it come pass, but I am believing for it.)
You know, Hosea 4:6 declares that we are perishing for lack of knowledge about what His promises are in His word. There are many churches teaching sound doctrine of God’s love, grace and mercy, along with our responsibility to know His word and act on it. Rebuke the devil when he tries to trespass on our freedoms in Christ. Here are some verses to consider …
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:6-7
In this time of grace, God is not behind all the hurricanes, earthquakes, famines, plaques, killings etc.
We need to look through the eyes of New Covenant believers, same God, New Covenant.
Praise God for His mercies that are new everyday because none of us are doing this perfectly, especially me.
The bottom line is “God is love” and His love never fails!
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com
