“Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” (Lamentations 3:37–38).
The God who reveals Himself in the Bible is always bigger and more powerful than we imagine Him to be. One of the defining marks of the Christian life is an ever-growing understanding of who God actually is. And one of God’s most incredible attributes is His providence.
In ways that are above our full understanding, God declares Himself to be in charge of everything. Both good times and bad times are ordained of the Lord, and there is tremendous hope in such a truth.
Isaiah 45:5-7
“I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me there is no God… I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
Romans 11:34-36
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Psalm 33:10-11
“The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”
Many questions are sure to arise when we think about this profound reality, but Christians may rest in the knowledge that God is always in charge. He is always working things for His own glory and the joy of His children (Rom. 8:28).
Holding the Line 