Whatever our circumstances God is on his throne – he is sovereign.
The church in Acts was growing at a terrific rate. In Acts 2:41 we read of 3000 being added, then in Acts 4 of 5000, and in chapter five that ‘Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers’ (14). And then?
Persecution!
Severe persecution leading to scattering (8 vs. 1 -4)! We might ask, why? All sorts of questions may arise, but the first thing to remember is that:
Whatever our circumstances God is on his throne! He reigns. Note the response in Acts 4 after Peter and John had been arrested and released, and told not to preach Jesus, the church prays, “Master/Sovereign Lord…” They look to and see God on his throne.
The circumstances may be dark; we may not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, they may be trying at times, but God is still on the throne. And note this, even if our circumstances are of our own making, if we step out of line, he is still able to bring us back because he is on his throne. Read the story of Jonah!
But what about the circumstances?
It’s possible to become absorbed with, and focus on our circumstances, the whys and the wherefores. The question is what is God saying? What is God doing?
Joseph was a man with a ‘prophetic word,’ yet everything seemed to go in the wrong direction! Psalm 105 says he was “sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with shackles; his neck was put in a collar of iron. Until the time of his prediction came true, the word of the Lord tested him.” Then, “the king sent for him and made him master of his household …” God was on his throne. He was bringing his purposes to pass. He was shaping Joseph for something bigger.
History – Negative Experiences
God has his way of closing doors and opening new ones, of squeezing us and shaping us, the problem is when we don’t see it, and all we see are the circumstances, and allow our history to determine our destiny. In Christ our history does not determine our destiny, he does.
Whatever our history we need to look away from it and listen afresh to the voice of God, and trust in his sovereign purposes.
The Word 4 Life 