Years ago I heard a fantastic talk. God is big, good and wise. It was fantastic because the terms were simple and clear – and crucially they resonated.
Now, there are other words we could use to explain this. It’s not wrong to do so. It’s not wrong to use more technical words and to explain them. But the key is to use words which resonate. This is key in preaching, but it is also key in the words we use when we think and exhort ourselves with the gospel.
God is Big
God can do whatever He wants. We could say He is omnipotent. We could say He is sovereign. We could say He is all powerful. The point is that God is bigger, stronger and more powerful than anything else we could conceive of. The point is that God can do anything and everything that we could conceive of and it would be effortless for Him to do so. The point is that God is in charge. He is in control.
God is Good
We can speak of God’s perfection. His purity. His blazing Holiness. We could speak of His love. His mercy. His kindness. His generosity. We could speak of this and so much more. God is Good.
God is Wise
We could speak of His omniscience, the fact that He is all knowing. We could speak of perfect foresight – that He knows everything that will happen and how actions will play out, the cause and the effect. We could speak of God knowing exactly how to super intend all of time and history to bring about His plans and His purposes.
Put it all together
What wonderful news this is. We have a God that knows exactly how to bring about His purposes. We have a God who can bring about His purposes and we have a God who’s purposes are good and right. We have a God who knows exactly what is good & best, is able to bring about whatever is good & best and we have a God who longs and desires to do so. AND, nothing can prevent this.
This is a God we can trust. In all circumstances. We can trust Him when we do not understand our circumstances. We can trust Him when we cannot see how things are good. We can trust Him when it seems things are out of control and we can trust Him when we cannot see the wisdom in events.
As we look at Hebrews 12 and Romans 8 this truth becomes even stronger. Because all this begs a question doesn’t it. If Jesus is now on the throne, if he is now forever King, if he has now smashed all his enemies then why do we suffer the way we do? Why are we persecuted? Why do such hideous things seem to happen? Maybe, God is not actually sovereign over these things or worse, maybe He is not actually for us and for our good. Or perhaps God has a good plan and is able to carry it out but it is not possible for God to effectively orchestrate every detail so that everything that happens is for the good of His people. The grand plan is good, the end is good, but there will be unavoidable bad as that plan is carried out. Acceptable losses? These are hard questions and there aren’t really neat & easy answers for us that can magically make our suffering not painful. Grief, pain, loss, depression, anxiety, ill-health – these things are real and for them to hurt doesn’t mean we aren’t trusting God.
The context of our pain is the three fold truth that God is Big, Good & Wise. God is therefore sovereign over the suffering that we are facing. It is not out of His control. The sovereignty of God is such an important doctrine to get right. The teaching of the bible places God as being in charge of Kings and rulers, sun, moon and stars, weather, wind and waves, right down to the sparrows and the number of hairs on your head. In practice, it is hard for us to grasp the level of knowledge, wisdom and authority that God has over His world sweeping vast numbers of peoples and nations over hundreds and thousands of years, down to excruciatingly minute levels of detail, his knowledge and control of His world is both comprehensive and perfect. As such the Bible states that nothing happens outside of His will, control and determination. No matter how horrendous it may seem. This utter sovereignty is met with a constant assertion in Scripture of the perfect goodness of God. It is not said more clearly than Romans 8v28: we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.
All things are worked together by our Heavenly Father. That means therefore that there is nothing that happens that does not bring about His purposes for His glory and for the good of His people. There is nothing that does not happen that that means His people are short changed by God.
We can use fancy terms for this. These truths can and should be explained, illustrated and they should be applied. But let’s not be ashamed of the basic truth. Easy to remember. The truth that resonates when everything falls apart on you – God is Big. God is Good. God is Wise.
