Our Great Sovereign God

We must first understand that God is in control, and that Barack Obama won the Presidential election last night because God ordained it. It could not have happened otherwise. I do not pretend to know the plan of God, or to question His will.

I think that the book of Job gives us some great answers with regards to this situation. After all the terrible troubles and loss that befell Job, we find his reaction:

Job 1:20-22 (All Scripture contained herein is from the ESV)

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job 2:9-10

9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." 10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

In both of these passages we see that Job does not ascribe these evils to the devil, or to the men who killed his servants and stole his livestock, but he ascribes the acts directly to God, and the scripture makes it clear that he has not done so falsely, or in sin, or accused God of doing wrong. (I'm not saying that Obama's victory is on the same level as what befell Job, my point here is regarding the sovereignty of God.)

This is just one place in the Bible where we see that God is Sovereign over all, and nothing can happen without God first ordaining it to happen, not that God has done wrong, or done evil, but that for His own reasons, and to His own purposes, He has done these things to Job.

When the time comes and Job begins to question why God has acted as he has, we find God Himself talking to Job:

Job 38:1-15

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.

4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?

12 "Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
and its features stand out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken."

It goes on until the end of the following chapter, but the point is clear, we have no standing to question the will and the actions of God.

This same thing rings true here. I do not know why God has ordained that Barack Obama is to be the next President of the United States of America, but He has, in fact, done so.

Let us assume that I am correct in my predictions of all the bad things that I have said will happen as a result of both the Democrat controlled Congress, and the Obama Presidency, how can I square that with my assertion that it was God's plan? It's really quite simple.

Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

This does not say that God will give us all of our wants, or do things according to our wishes, but rather says that He will supply our needs. It also does not say that God will supply what we perceive to be our needs, but what our needs actually are. Nor is it limited to our physical needs, but those spiritual, or eternal needs, which are far greater.

If all the extreme cases of what could come about as a long term result of this election, we may end up in suffering, but it may be that God knows that we have a need of suffering, and if He didn't supply that, He would be breaking His promise.

And another silver lining, if the worst extremes of all of my predictions come true, it will crush the "Health, Wealth, and Prosperity" movement.

My trust is in the Lord my God. I will continue to fight for what is right, and if I fail, I can know that it is part of God's great plan, but I will also know that I have fulfilled my responsibility of doing what is right.

I have heard from some other Conservatives that they were not able to sleep last night, even that they were up all night crying over the election results. As for me, while I felt some sadness for my Country, I shed no tears. I watched President Elect Obama's speech, and then I went outside and took down my yard signs, and took the bumper stickers off my cars (I refuse to be a sore loser like those people still driving around with "Kerry/Edwards" stickers) made my daughter a sandwich for school, and went to bed, nor did I have trouble sleeping. I slept like a man secure in the knowledge that the Almighty Sovereign God has everything under control.