Sovereign . . . And Good

Sovereign . . . and Good

Read: Matthew 14:22-33

“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Matthew 14:27

“The center of God’s will is our only safety.”

—Betsie ten Boom

IN WORD How often we need to hear these words from Jesus! We grow weak when the troubles of life threaten us. Difficult trials come, and we grow suspicious of God, wondering if His will for us might be too hard this time. We let fear invade us and paralyze us. All the while, we forget two unalterable facts that the Bible emphasizes again and again—God is sovereign, and He is good.

There is nothing beyond God’s control. Old Testament stories of the Red Sea, Jericho, Goliath, captivities, fiery furnaces, lions’ dens, and the like should have convinced the disciples that even when perilous threats arise, God always uses them purposely to further establish His people. Jesus affirms the sovereignty of God; He numbers the hairs of our heads and watches over sparrows. When this Jesus walks across life-threatening waters and says “It is I,” fear should vanish. God is sovereign.

But God’s sovereignty often means nothing to us unless we also know that He is good. An evil or dispassionate god could be sovereign, and we would not trust him. But the disciples should also have known from the Old Testament that the sovereign God is kindly disposed toward His people. He shepherds them, shelters them, nourishes them, and delivers them. Jesus has also made this clear: The Father gives good things to His children and blesses them. When His Son walks across life-threatening waters and says “It is I,” it is not for further danger. It is for relief. God is good.

IN DEED The wind and waves of this world are harsh. When we obsess about them, we grow suspicious of God’s power and goodwill. Our courage fails us. But anyone who has a hard time making it through the storms of this life needs to clutch these truths like a lifeline that will pull him or her to safety. God’s sovereign power supervises everything that comes into our lives, no matter how threatening it appears. And He is—in His unchanging nature—very, very good.