I am writing this during a three-week hotel quarantine in Hong Kong: on a day when God, in the midst of my fear, weariness, and uncertainty, pierced me with His light and reminded me to trust Him in all things.
Our everyday lives are practically centred around probabilities. 30% chance of catching COVID. 10% chance of getting that job. 50% chance of developing cancer. Life is so full of probabilities that we sometimes think it is the same way for God—that somehow He, too, is exposed to all the uncertainties and accidents of life. But this is simply not true. We only think this way because of our helplessness as humans, our utter lack of control over the world around us. We are so weak that it is hard for us to even fathom that anyone could be in complete control.
But we have a God who is completely sovereign over all space and all time. Not a thing in this universe happens that God has not ordained. Consider these verses from the Book of Isaiah in which God declares His Lordship over all space and time:
I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. (Isaiah 45.12)
[For] I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’ (Isaiah 46.9b–10)
God already knows exactly what will happen and what will not. And He doesn’t just passively know, like we ‘know’ things from reading the news. No—God has purposefully planned everything that will happen and everything that will not. He has carefully arranged every single atom for every single moment for the entirety of time. God’s plans also never fail—everything goes exactly the way He intends, always.
Amazingly, God uses His omnipotence not for selfish benefit, but for the eternal good of His people (Romans 8.28). This selflessness is in the very nature of a loving God who sent His own Son to die for us on a cross so that our sins can be forgiven. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, not a single thing happens to us that is (1) beyond God’s control and (2) ultimately not for our eternal benefit.
So the next time we find ourselves feeling anxious about something uncertain, the next time we tremble in fear of the future, we should close our eyes and ask God to grant us renewed trust in His goodness and sovereignty. He already knows what will happen to us, and whatever happens will be good for us. He is the loving Father who guides us through life, seeing clearly the path ahead even when we cannot. This is the path that He Himself forged for us, the path that leads to the New Creation, paved with the blood of Jesus Christ our Saviour.