Transcript
well, you will face difficulty. It may be interpersonal. It may be financial, it may be physical, maybe the shattering of a church that you loved. It may be a dear friend in an act of betrayal, hurting you like you never thought you'd be hurt before. It may be racism, political corruption, war. It may be robbery. There are all kinds of trouble that troubles that greet us in this fallen world. And there's one, one final comfort that right now I like to talk to you about, and is the comfort of God's sovereignty, that this world that at street level, seems like complete chaos, or sometimes you're afraid to go out of your door because of violence on the street.
When Chaos Greets You at the Door
You're afraid to get out of bed because you're so physically weak, or you're afraid to contact that friend because you've had a horrible fight. It sometimes just seems like I open my door and chaos greets me. That it's so comforting to know that this world is under control. This world is under Rule. Oh no, not your control, not my rule, but God's Listen to these words from Daniel, for his God's dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of Earth, and none can stay his hand or say to him, What have you done?
Here's the picture. God rules the entirety of heaven. He rules every situation, location, circumstance and relationship on Earth, and no one can question him, and no one can stop his hand. That is a picture of complete and utter rule. Now, here's what you need to understand. Embracing the comfort of the sovereignty of God doesn't mean that your life will make sense to you. Because there's a creature, creator, line that you're not able to cross. God reveals much to us, but there are so many things he doesn't reveal. God's secret will is his secret will because it's secret.
So here's what this means, real rest, real comfort is not found in understanding. Real comfort is not found in figuring your life out. Real comfort is not found in unpacking and exegeting mysteries. Comfort is found in trusting the one who has no mystery and who rules everything that looks like chaos to me. I used to have this experience with my children when they would want something they were little, and I would have to say no, but I could not explain to them why I was saying no, and I would kneel down so we were face to face. And I'd say, Does your daddy love you, yeah.
You Can Be Mad at Daddy, but Daddy Loves You
Does your daddy want good things for you? Yeah. Do you like it that daddy said, no, no. Are you mad at Daddy? Yeah. And I'd say, Well, you. And walk down the hallway. You can be mad at daddy, but Daddy loves you. Daddy wants what's best for you, but Daddy can't explain to you why he said no, because you wouldn't understand it. So if you want to be happy, just trust your daddy. Walk down the hallway and say, I don't know why my daddy did this, but my daddy is a good daddy. I'm going to trust my daddy. You see, rest is found in not figuring your life out, but trusting the one who has it all figured out for your good and his glory.
Will face things that will surprise us and that will remain mysterious to us. We will long for answers that we'll never get. And so run, run not to the Temple of your mind. Run to his temple, into His presence, and remember once again that he rules the host of heaven. He rules the inhabitants of earth. No one can stop his hand. No one can question him. That means you can never be in a situation, no matter how dark you can never be in a relationship, no matter how difficult you can never be in a location, no matter how dangerous that lives outside of his rule, he rules it all, and rest is found in him, because this side of eternity, we will live in the middle of mystery.
He knows no mystery, because he is in charge of it all.
