God Loves You

And His purpose for your life is good.

by Ernest L. Easley

H OME LIFE IS CHALLENGING, espe­cially during those unexpected seasons that drive you to your knees. Perhaps you’re currently in one of those seasons and wondering what God is up to. You look around and life isn’t making any sense. You’re asking, “Why me?” “Why my children?” “Why my career?” “Why my parents?” It’s like not being able to see the mountain for the clouds. You know it’s there, but you just can’t see it.

Remember this: God can see it! In fact, not only can God see it, but He also controls it. Those things that don’t make sense to you make sense to Him. He’s in the process of using them for His glory and for your good. You say, “Ernest, it sure doesn’t look like it.” That’s because you can’t see around the corner. It’s like looking through a knot hole in a wooden fence at a parade passing by. You can only see what’s in front of you, not what’s passed or what’s coming.

Here’s the good news: God sees the entire parade. In fact, He’s directing it, for He is sovereign. He is the sovereign director of our lives. That’s what the apostle Paul was saying in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Joseph says the same thing in Genesis 50:20, “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good.”

The Sovereignty of God

What you believe about God greatly impacts how you live your life. When you believe God is sovereign and is working in your life to fulfill His plans and purposes, it’s easier to rest in His sovereignty when the bottom drops out of your life. Years ago, when I was diagnosed with throat cancer, believing God is sovereign allowed me to pray, “Lord, thank You for this cancer. I’m not happy about it, but knowing You are sovereign, nothing can get to me without first coming through You. I know You will use this for Your glory and my good.”

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “the sovereignty of God”? For many, it sounds right, but knowing the sovereignty of God is something else. Often, whenever people hear about the sovereignty of God, they think of it as rigid, like a huge iron vice, which holds everything in a tight grip. The sovereignty of God never tramples on the free will of people. Yes, we are free, but God is sovereign. There is no incompatibility between divine sovereignty and human will.

What does the sovereignty of God mean? It means that God possesses all power and is the ruler of all things. Look at the word sovereignty. What word do you see in the middle of it? The word reign. To say that God is sover­eign is to say that God reigns.

Did you know God declares Himself sovereign? We hear Him saying it in Isaiah 43:15, “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” We hear David declaring God’s sovereignty in his prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:12, “Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.” We hear Jehoshaphat declaring in his prayer, “LORD, God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations?” (2 Chron. 20:6a).

Listen again to David in Psalm 103:19, “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules overall.” God’s kingdom includes everything! He rules over everything, which includes your life, your circum­stances, your challenges, and even over your crisis. I’ve been asked over the years by people in a crisis or chal­lenge, “Ernest, where is God in this?” My answer is, “He’s right in the middle of it working out His plans. Trust Him!”

The Secret of Being Content

Let me ask you this: Who rules over a kingdom? A king. So, when we talk about God being sovereign, we’re talking about God being King. In fact, this word translated king­dom refers to royal power or dominion.

Learn this today: His is an absolute monarchy! Prov­erbs 16:4 tells us, “The LORD has prepared everything for his purpose.” Psalm 97:1 states, “The LORD reigns!” Our God is sovereign! Even the pagan sailors on the boat with Jonah acknowledged God’s sovereignty when they called out to the Lord, “For you, LORD, have done just as you pleased” (Jonah 1:14b)

It’s one thing to realize God is sovereign, it’s another thing to rest in His sovereignty. It really comes down to perspective. It’s like the fable of a man who went to his pastor complaining, “Life is unbearable. There are five of us living in one room. What can I do?” The pastor answered, “Take your goat into the room with you and come back in one week.”

A week later the man returned looking more distraught than before. “We can’t stand it,” he told the pastor. “The goat is filthy.” The pastor said, “Go home and let the goat out, and come back in one week.”

A week later the man returned, radiant and excited and said, “Pastor! Life is wonderful! We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat, only the five of us.” Perspective helps, doesn’t it?

If anyone understood perspective, it was the apostle Paul. While sitting in a Roman prison, he wrote, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself” (Phil. 4:11).

Here’s a secret we all need to know — the secret of being content! The key is found in Philippians 4:13, “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” That verse tells us contentment starts from within and then works its way out. In other words, contentment is an inside job. The secret to contentment is not a what, it’s a whom. Jesus is the secret. Through Jesus, we can rest in God’s sovereignty.

Read those words again: “For I have learned to be content ….” Resting in God’s sovereignty is personal. In the Greek lan­guage, the word translated “I” is written as a strong emphatic. In other words, the emphasis in this verse is on the word “I.” “… I have learned …” (emphasis is mine). Resting in God’s sovereignty is something we must learn for ourselves. It is per­sonal. Nobody can learn it for you, except you.

So, how do you learn it? The same way Paul learned it — you must be teachable. Are you teachable or are you a know-it-all? Are you impressed with all you know? Don’t be! You may know what you know, but you don’t know what you don’t know. The more I learn, the more I realize how much there is to learn. One thing I’m learning is that God uses times of trouble to teach me to trust Him more. The greater the trouble, the greater my trust grows, because I realize He uses it to make me more like Jesus, and He is fulfilling His plans and purposes.

Resting in God’s sovereignty is personal. I can no more rest in God’s sovereignty for you anymore than Paul could rest in God’s sovereignty for the believers in Philippi. I must learn to rest in His sovereignty for me. You must learn to rest in His sovereignty for you. Therefore, stay teachable.

To rest in God’s sovereignty is to trust God in your circum­stances knowing He is working in and through your life.

So, the question is: Are you resting in God’s sovereignty today? You say that your circumstances are out of control, so how can you rest in God’s sovereignty? They may appear out of control to you, but they don’t to God. Your circumstances may have caught you off guard, but they haven’t caught God off guard. He not only goes with you through them, but He’s also wanting to use them to strengthen your faith and develop your trust.

There’s not a more peaceful place to live than in His sover­eignty. It will be a great day in your life when you learn that resting in God’s sovereignty will liberate your life. Charles Spurgeon said, “The sovereignty of God is the pillow on which the Christian lays his head.”

After serving the local church as a senior pastor for 32 years, and three years as Professor of Evangelism at Union University, Ernest Easley now serves as Teaching Pastor of Equipping at First Baptist Cleveland, Tennessee. He enjoys writing, hunting, the outdoors, and coaching a little track and field during track season. Ernest and his wife, Julie, have three children and seven grandchildren.

This article originally appeared in HomeLife magazine (February 2024). For more articles like this, subscribe to HomeLife.