El Elyon: The God Most High
Another characteristic of God is His sovereignty. He is the ruler of the universe--Daniel 4:34(b)-35 read, "For His dominion is an everlasting dominion. As his kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. NO ONE CAN RESTRAIN HIS HAND OR SAY TO HIM, 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?'"
This is a tough one for people to grasp (to be honest, sometimes it's still hard for me). No matter what happens here, there is a story being played out in the heavens and God's purpose is being fulfilled at this very moment. Even though millions of unborn babies are being aborted; hundreds of thousands of women and children are slaves to sex trafficking; and countless other tragic situations (physical and sexual abuse in families, alcohol and drug addictions, starvation, infertility...) GOD REIGNS! Whether you act like it or not. Whether you believe in Him or not. The end has already been written.
His sovereignty also guarantees Satan is completely under God's control. As children, many of us where taught that God and the Devil were "opposites" -- like hot and cold, tall and short, good and bad -- implying they also shared similar powers but used them for different purposes. This is not so. The story of Job assures us God will sometimes allow Satan to "test" His children, but only for a time, only for His glory, and only under limits He sets. Careful not to misunderstand me here. I am not saying every bad thing that happens to people is a personal attack from Satan. Many times, we're just living with the consequences of our choices. God is not an absent God. He did not set the world in motion then back off. We can rest assured no matter what we are going through God is constant, in control and is the Rx for our suffering! He loves me enough to allow difficult times to strengthen my faith. (And if I don't pass the test the first time, He's faithful to give me a do-over.)
God's sovereignty means that He's bigger than the particular challenge you're facing. If it's His will, He'll make it happen. While there are many examples I could use, one in particular stands out as an example in my life of God's sovereignty over the timing of my life and death... But before I begin, I must make a clarification of an earlier statement. At the end of my last post, I said that we were in Costa Rica and "debt free". That is true for the most part, but I didn't consider a student loan which I am still obligated to pay to our federal government. (We have personal resources covering the payment, so I hope this explains the oversight.) This loan is the focus of my story.
Just under two years ago when Mike and I considered a move to Venezuela, we researched our options. We were familiar with the Assemblies of God World Missions program, so we investigated their qualifications. We didn't think we would be able to qualify because of the limit placed on the amount of personal debt missionaries can have (and rightly so). After much prayer we submitted our application. We believed somehow God would manage to take care of the "problem" if He wanted us in Venezuela. A few weeks after submitting our applications we receive an email from our representative asking me how we were going to get under the limit. We presented our plan for paying off all unsecured debt and two out of three student loans. Explaining there would be a single student loan left.
I presented my argument for approval, but I was told that a "waiver" would not be an option. We needed to pay it off, get the payment below the threshold, or find some other way. We received the last communication on a Tuesday. Needless to say, I was frustrated. I remember venting to Mike and him responding that I just need to give it over to God. (Easier said than done.) So I took the rest of the week to "think" about how I was going to respond. (This is code for "stewing in frustration".) Sunday morning Pastor Patrick Tanton preached a sermon out of Mark on Blind Bartemaeus (10:46-52). It was exactly what I needed to hear.
For those of you who don't know the story, Bartemaeus was hanging out in the city square in Jericho. Jesus was passing through on his way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. Bart heard Jesus was coming through and because he couldn't see, he started shouting out--trying to get Jesus' attention. Everyone around him was yelling at him trying to make him be quiet and not cause a scene. This only made Bart shout louder. Jesus heard him and approached. When He got to Bart, Jesus asked him a strange question, "What do you want me to do for you?"
To you and I, the answer seems obvious--Bart wanted Jesus to heal him. Why else would he have waited around and risked public ridicule? Which begs the question: why did Jesus have to ask? Well the gist of Pastor Patrick's message was pretty simple, but yet profound. Jesus asked the question because Bart needed to speak the answer. It was a test of his faith. As I sat listening to the message, I was lost by the fact that sometimes we fail to ask and just presume God knows what we want and will give it to us. That night I was lying in bed still contemplating the mountain. I heard Pastor's words again, "Sometimes we just need to speak it." So I did. I said out loud, "God, I don't know what you're going to do about my student loan, but the problem is yours if you want us to get to Venezuela." I slept peacefully that night.
The next day, I was checking the status of our application online and noticed we were given a "green light" under credit approval. I was perplexed--what had transpired over the course of a few days? I scrolled down and noticed a message. As I read it, I couldn't believe my eyes. Only days after my previous correspondence, the powers-that-be had met and discussed the debt threshold limit and decided it was time to raise it--
TO EXACTLY THE AMOUNT WE NEEDED!
God is sovereign and His timing is perfect. I don't know what struggles you are going through now, but I can promise you if your faith remains strong, God will be glorified in the end. Regardless of the outcome.
This is a tough one for people to grasp (to be honest, sometimes it's still hard for me). No matter what happens here, there is a story being played out in the heavens and God's purpose is being fulfilled at this very moment. Even though millions of unborn babies are being aborted; hundreds of thousands of women and children are slaves to sex trafficking; and countless other tragic situations (physical and sexual abuse in families, alcohol and drug addictions, starvation, infertility...) GOD REIGNS! Whether you act like it or not. Whether you believe in Him or not. The end has already been written.
His sovereignty also guarantees Satan is completely under God's control. As children, many of us where taught that God and the Devil were "opposites" -- like hot and cold, tall and short, good and bad -- implying they also shared similar powers but used them for different purposes. This is not so. The story of Job assures us God will sometimes allow Satan to "test" His children, but only for a time, only for His glory, and only under limits He sets. Careful not to misunderstand me here. I am not saying every bad thing that happens to people is a personal attack from Satan. Many times, we're just living with the consequences of our choices. God is not an absent God. He did not set the world in motion then back off. We can rest assured no matter what we are going through God is constant, in control and is the Rx for our suffering! He loves me enough to allow difficult times to strengthen my faith. (And if I don't pass the test the first time, He's faithful to give me a do-over.)
God's sovereignty means that He's bigger than the particular challenge you're facing. If it's His will, He'll make it happen. While there are many examples I could use, one in particular stands out as an example in my life of God's sovereignty over the timing of my life and death... But before I begin, I must make a clarification of an earlier statement. At the end of my last post, I said that we were in Costa Rica and "debt free". That is true for the most part, but I didn't consider a student loan which I am still obligated to pay to our federal government. (We have personal resources covering the payment, so I hope this explains the oversight.) This loan is the focus of my story.
Just under two years ago when Mike and I considered a move to Venezuela, we researched our options. We were familiar with the Assemblies of God World Missions program, so we investigated their qualifications. We didn't think we would be able to qualify because of the limit placed on the amount of personal debt missionaries can have (and rightly so). After much prayer we submitted our application. We believed somehow God would manage to take care of the "problem" if He wanted us in Venezuela. A few weeks after submitting our applications we receive an email from our representative asking me how we were going to get under the limit. We presented our plan for paying off all unsecured debt and two out of three student loans. Explaining there would be a single student loan left.
I presented my argument for approval, but I was told that a "waiver" would not be an option. We needed to pay it off, get the payment below the threshold, or find some other way. We received the last communication on a Tuesday. Needless to say, I was frustrated. I remember venting to Mike and him responding that I just need to give it over to God. (Easier said than done.) So I took the rest of the week to "think" about how I was going to respond. (This is code for "stewing in frustration".) Sunday morning Pastor Patrick Tanton preached a sermon out of Mark on Blind Bartemaeus (10:46-52). It was exactly what I needed to hear.
For those of you who don't know the story, Bartemaeus was hanging out in the city square in Jericho. Jesus was passing through on his way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. Bart heard Jesus was coming through and because he couldn't see, he started shouting out--trying to get Jesus' attention. Everyone around him was yelling at him trying to make him be quiet and not cause a scene. This only made Bart shout louder. Jesus heard him and approached. When He got to Bart, Jesus asked him a strange question, "What do you want me to do for you?"
To you and I, the answer seems obvious--Bart wanted Jesus to heal him. Why else would he have waited around and risked public ridicule? Which begs the question: why did Jesus have to ask? Well the gist of Pastor Patrick's message was pretty simple, but yet profound. Jesus asked the question because Bart needed to speak the answer. It was a test of his faith. As I sat listening to the message, I was lost by the fact that sometimes we fail to ask and just presume God knows what we want and will give it to us. That night I was lying in bed still contemplating the mountain. I heard Pastor's words again, "Sometimes we just need to speak it." So I did. I said out loud, "God, I don't know what you're going to do about my student loan, but the problem is yours if you want us to get to Venezuela." I slept peacefully that night.
The next day, I was checking the status of our application online and noticed we were given a "green light" under credit approval. I was perplexed--what had transpired over the course of a few days? I scrolled down and noticed a message. As I read it, I couldn't believe my eyes. Only days after my previous correspondence, the powers-that-be had met and discussed the debt threshold limit and decided it was time to raise it--
TO EXACTLY THE AMOUNT WE NEEDED!
God is sovereign and His timing is perfect. I don't know what struggles you are going through now, but I can promise you if your faith remains strong, God will be glorified in the end. Regardless of the outcome.
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