When Things Go WrongSample

In God’s sovereignty, He has established boundaries within which we are to function. When we choose to go outside of those boundaries, He has also allowed consequences to come about which are tied to those choices. Well-executed plays within the structure and alignment of His rule come with good results as well. And while God has a preferred will for each of us, He also has an allowed will that adjusts based on the freedom He’s granted us in our choices.

For example, God had called the Israelites out of slavery and into the Promised Land. He had even given them strong leaders such as Moses, Joshua and Caleb who would take them into the battles they were to face. Yet because the Israelites chose to rebel against God and fear those around them in the land they were given, God allowed them to wander in the wilderness for another forty years before the next generation could enter into His preferred promise (Numbers 32:13).

Blaming the devil comes about as a quick knee-jerk reaction when things start to deteriorate in our lives. It’s easy to point the finger and assume it’s spiritual warfare for each and every issue we face. But doing so negates a true comprehension of a principle found in Lamentations 3:37-38 which says,

“Who is there who speaks and it happens, unless the Lord has ordained it? Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?”

It is both adversity and good that come from the Lord, and these are largely dependent upon our own choices. It was not Satan who kept the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years. It was God. What’s more—it was the Israelites themselves, through their rebellion against His rightful rule in their lives. While God does not create nor condone sin and disobedience, He did create human freedom which allows people to choose sin and therefore bear its consequences.

A correct view of God’s providential hand will increase our fear and reverence for Him rather than reduce it. This is because it is in understanding sovereignty that we come face to face with His holiness and His loyalty to His own holiness and rule. While God’s love is higher, wider and deeper than anything you or I have ever known, His commitment to His own rule as King over all has created boundaries in which we are to experience that love.

To hear more about God's providential hand, download a free sermon from Dr. Tony Evans by clicking here.  We want to thank B&H Publishers for these excerpts from Tony Evans' book "Pathways: From Providence to Purpose," published in 2019.