Have you ever found yourself in the middle of an open field at night before? Not some section of grass down the street from the local Kroger but a genuine field where there is not a single thing around you. No light pollution vying for your attention just the light from the heavens shining down. If so, have you ever just stood there and looked up to gaze upon the sky and focused on what was happening above your head? Star after star, galaxy after galaxy you begin to imagine what is beyond the mere human eye, the things you can’t see but you know are there. Planets, constellations, and moons beyond the sight of even the strongest of telescopes all participating in a magnificent heavenly choreography hosted by the very one that created them all long ago. No star is out of line, no galaxy spins, nor do the planets rotate without first getting their cue from the grand Choreographer.
Similarly, have you ever found yourself standing at the edge of the ocean where with each wave that rolls in it takes a little bit of sand as it rolls back leaving you slowly sinking deeper in the sand? An unfathomable amount of water staying within its bounds and only ever leaves when permitted by the One who put it there at the very beginning. As this is happening you notice there are rhythms and reasons for the actions of the water. It rolls in and back out over and over again like the bows of an orchestra as it obeys the orders of the grand Conductor. The disciples witnessed this. They witnessed though in the middle of a mighty storm, Jesus is sleeping. The boat is filling with water, Jesus is sleeping. Their panicking, thinking they are as good as dead, Jesus is sleeping. Why are they panicking? Because in that moment they forgot who was sleeping. They wouldn’t have cried out “we are perishing” had they remembered that the man who was sleeping was divinely orchestrating every moment of the storm to show his power. In fact, I would even argue that they would have even been able to sleep right next to Jesus had they remembered that the grand Choreographer of all things seen and unseen are under his authority and not an ounce of water came over the sides of the boat without his sovereign allowance yes, even while he was sleeping.
“What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27).
This isn’t the only time we see creation following the cues from the Grand Choreographer. We see in the very beginning of our bibles creation performing a cosmic choreography as God commands the sun, moon and stars to light up the heavens with not one of them getting out of step with the Creators grand design. This continues as he speaks mountains and valleys, rivers and jungles, trees and plants as well as animals and the pinnacle of his creation taking after his own likeness as he breathes life into mankind’s dusty hearts. In Genesis 7 God commands Noah and his family along with all kinds of animals both male and female to board a boat as He causes the waters from below and above to flood the earth. In Exodus 14 the Red Sea obeys His command as it completely separates into two to allow safe passage for Gods people to flee Egypt only to come crashing down onto the Egyptians that were sent to chase them. In Joshua 10 He rained stones from the heavens to give the Amorites into the hands of the Israelites and in the same battle God allowed the sun to stand still so that Joshua and the Israelites could be given victory over their enemies. In 1 Kings 17 Elijah predicts a drought and God sends him to the east of the Jordan to hide by the brook Cherith where God will provide sustenance for him. Water of the brook and bread by the ravens proving once again that even the birds obey his commands. In Matthew 14 Jesus defies gravity as he walks on water. In Acts 16 God ordains an earthquake to free Paul and Silas from prison and in Revelation 6 the sun turns black and the moon turns red like blood. The crazy part is that I could keep going but I think you get the point. All of this is to further the idea that at no point in all of creations history has creation ever operated outside of Gods sovereign control. That with every move of creation, God, the grand choreographer is there pointing where it should go and what it should do.
Now, here’s the thing, this ought to do at-least two things for us. It should produce something in us while simultaneously removing something from us. It should produce in us hope while removing fear from us. The truth of the matter is that if all things seen and unseen submit to God, nature and mankind alike and if God did what he said he did (and he did because he does not lie; Jn. 17:17) then nothing that happens is beyond his control, without his awareness, or separate from his grand plan for our lives. I often tell people that if God allows it then he is sovereign over it and if he is sovereign over it then I have nothing to worry about. Honestly, to simply put this, the times I experience worry is in direct correlation with my lack of belief that God has it under control. When I worry, I am not thinking about how God has not only put the stars in the sky but also named them (Ps. 147:4). When I worry, I forget that even the wind and seas obey him (Matt. 8:27). When I worry, I forget that no king or ruler is placed in authority without God first allowing it (Dan. 2:21; Rom. 13:1) and so on. But, when I remember that the Great Redeemer, the Lover of my Soul, the Ruler of the Skies, the Grand Choreographer causes the grass to grow (Ps. 104:14), designs the moon to bring forth the seasons (Ps. 104:19), how much more will he sovereignly guide the feet of mankind (Prov. 3:5-6; Ps. 32:8; Prov. 20:24)? So, knowing that this is true ought to give the greatest hope to us that all things are under the authority and guidance of God and he does not let a single thing happen without a reason and that reason is for our good and his glory (Rom. 8:28).
But maybe you’re not here. Maybe you’ve been reading this wanting to believe it to be true but just can’t because of what is going on in your life right now. Maybe you’re thinking to yourself that no good could possibly come from what you’re going through. Have you lost hope in the Grand Choreographer? Maybe you’re even blaming Him for what is going on. Maybe you’re like “Ean, it doesn’t seem like God has it under control.” I want you to know that I honestly hear you. Life is tough. It is hard to understand why God would allow such things to happen in our lives. But that’s where I would respond with two words; consider Job. After losing everything he had Job confronts God. Gods response? “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). This is not some spiritual sarcastic remark to Job in his worst time but rather it is the best thing he could have been told because it reminded him of the truth that not everything is going to make sense to us but it does to God because he sees the whole picture, why? Because he is the one who drew it and in the next 71 verses God responds to Job by reminding him of this very thing.
“Consider Job.”
God doesn’t just come up beside Job with mere coddling whispering that everything is going to be alright. Instead he offers a rebuke of grace by asking him a series of questions with every answer being “not I, but God alone”. In a way it is God putting Job in his place as he reminds him of who he is talking to and I would argue that God does the same thing with us today. As we start to question, doubt, or wonder he is there faithfully reminding us of who he is. Why? Because he knows that in our brokenness we can often suffer from spiritual amnesia. He knows we fear and grow weary, he knows the long, dark nights of no sleep because we have no idea what is going on. He knows the lengths we go to hide so people don’t find out how much we are struggling. He knows all of it and he never once leaves us to find our way out of the dark. Yes, he may not remove the situation right away and he might even delay revealing the “why” of the situation but He stays ever present, always working, and revealing himself to us the entire time to bring us the hope we so desperately need and that my friends is good news.
So, I guess to boil all of this down to a few sentences is that, yes life is hard and there are countless times we look towards the sky asking why because we have no idea what is going on and while that might be a legitimate question, we must be ready for God to ask us the same question he asked Job; “Where were you?”. Not to shame or put us down but to remind our frail hearts that a hard season does not mean the absence of God but rather the complete opposite.