Day 36: "A Reminder That God is Sovereign"

DAY 36

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

WEEK SIX: SUNDAY 19 APRIL 2020

“A Reminder That God is Sovereign”

“Some evangelical Christians are finding hope in a divine promise that God has saved them for eternity, a feeling of security amidst so much uncertainty. ‘For me personally it is just a reminder that God is sovereign,’ said Mark Lovvern, 65, who attends First Baptist Dallas and is Chairman of Providence Bank of Texas.” - Newspaper article, “For People of Many Religions or None, Signs of Apocalypse,” by Elizabeth Dias 2 April 2020

‘Sovereign’ has wound its way from the ancient Latin preposition ‘super’ meaning ‘over’ as in superior, through French into Middle English with the word you can see in it, ‘reign’ added, yielding ‘to reign or rule over.’   It is at the core of our Reformed faith, this belief that at the end of the day the God who created everything has not abdicated His place in the universe.

      

I will never forget standing in the middle of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, Germany, staring into an oven into which countless bodies were placed. There I engaged in a silent theological and existential struggle with this sovereign God who watched it all and seemingly did nothing. Of those days Eli Weisel, survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient wrote, “Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.” At the other end of the experiential spectrum remains Corrie ten Boom, who lost all her family in the Nazi concentration camps where she was also interred and suffered, and who declared when it was all over, “No pit is so deep but He is not deeper still.” This begs the question: Is the sovereignty of God located in the events that surround us or within us where He rules? Or both?

Which brings us to our interpretation of the role of God in this current pandemic. A search for signs of His sovereignty in it all will prove elusive. Rather it is here that the sometimes too familiar promise of Romans 8:28, grounded in His sovereignty, can prove supportive: “And we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him,…” On this we can stake our lives – “all things.” God has been, is now, and always will be – in charge!

Reflective question: What does the sovereignty of God mean to you in your own daily life?

Reflective scripture: Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

Reflective hymn: “This Is My Father’s World” – Maltbie Babcock (1858-1901)

This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget,

That though the wrong seems ‘oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.

This is my father’s world, the battle is not done;

Jesus, who died, shall be satisfied, and earth and heav’n be one.