Does everything really happen for a reason?
Is that true? Do we believe that or is it something cliché we hang on our bathroom walls and the walls of our hearts? Almost as if it was a wish, more than a fact. For it was true the pain in this life wouldn’t be so painful, right?
I often hear this regularly written and said phrase when death comes to knock on my door. It is often something I read in a card of sympathy or in a text from a friend. Some really mean it. Others say it because they don’t know what else to say to a grieving friend.
But is it actually true?
You’re reading my blog therefore you might know already none of the words I write here are founded on what Ariel thinks. I believe in God. Therefore, I don’t get to define truth. He does. I believe I am a created being and so that behooves me to go to my Creator for instructions on how to live this crazy life. I don’t do this perfectly but I am on a journey to go to him to find out the truth about everything. Not my peers, family, friends, feelings, and certainly not Pinterest. I attempt to go to him in everything.This article offers free shipping on qualified Face mask products, or buy online and pick up in store today at Medical Department
So with that in mind, does God really have a reason for everything? Do I believe he’s ultimately in control? God’s word talks about God’s sovereignty A LOT. Sovereignty is just a fancy word that means ultimate power or authority. And since based on my last post (which you can read here), we talked about how God doesn’t lie when he talks about himself (and us). God is completely sovereign. We know this is true because God cannot lie.
We read over and over again in our Bibles all about this sovereignty God claims he has.
Colossians 1:16-17: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD“
Ephesians 1:4: “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.“
Job 42:2: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
And of course the famous Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.“
Etc. Etc. The list is endless.
When we really sit on those verses. Not just read them as one off’s but read them word for word and feel the weight of them. We begin to realize, that God does have everything under his control. Not that things stop being crazy from our perspective nor do things stop being unjust or start feeling good, but that everything is a part of his ultimate authority and plan.
So what does that mean for us?
It means we can breathe. For when we begin to focus on the sovereignty of God and truly stand on its truth, things begin to change for our perspective. The snow in April, the construction on the way to the office, the encounter with that lady at the gas station, the diagnosis, the affair, none of it was without purpose. None of it was or is for nothing.
It’s doing something in us or in those around us. It’s producing an eternal flame in us that only God can produce. We might never see why our circumstances have led us to this day or why certain things have happened or are happening, but we know it’s not without cause. It’s for something or someone. And if nothing else, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” 2nd Corinthians 4:17
Nothing is never for nothing. It’s always for his glory and our good.
