God is Sovereign

God is in control
Written by C.C. Strachan

All over the news we hear of the novel coronavirus spreading to countries and it raises concern.  Many of us either go into panic mode or are nonchalant about it.  Yet as Christians we understand that we serve an all-knowing God, but if God is all-knowing then couldn't He have seen and thus prevented the spread of the coronavirus to mankind?  While I do not attempt to even claim to know the mind of God for who can know the mind of God, or who has been his counselor (Romans 11:34); I can attempt to answer this question philosophically and from a logical standpoint.

There have been numerous books written on the “problem of evil” and or “why God allows suffering?” While I acknowledge there are many good reasons, this article will focus on one of them and it is the fact that God is sovereign, or as Christians like to say – God is in control. But what do Christians mean by this? Do they mean that God controls our every move, thought and action? Absolutely not, God’s sovereignty means He is the ultimate source of everything that exists, he has all power and authority to perform His will here on earth?

“An all-knowing God knows the end of all things. An all-good God wants to bring all things to a good end. And an all-powerful God can bring all things to a good end.”[1] Therefore, it is left for us to place our Trust in Him.  The fact that God is all-knowing and all- powerful does not mean He is the Puppet Master.  For example, while mankind only has limited facts, God has the full facts on everything and this includes the coronavirus disease. We are told that most likely “a single, recent emergence of this virus [came] from an animal reservoir….China had some link to a large seafood and live animal market, suggesting animal to person spread.”[2]  However, we question God's ability to be God and echo the words "God why is this happening?" Which leads me to ask: Was God to remove free will from mankind in order to prevent humans from consuming certain animals? Or should He have wiped out all the diseased animals so that He could protect mankind? Or should He have miraculously healed mankind each time they ate the diseased animal? We question God based on our limited knowledge, but remember God has the full facts, and all we need to do is Trust Him. 

But the problem with mankind today is that we always think we know how to be God.  Just like in the Garden of Eden – the enemy deceived the woman telling her that she “will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:4) The fact is, mankind has free will and with it we can choose to do good or choose to do bad, we can choose to eat healthy or we can take risks with our health. But the key is not to blame God but to Trust Him in every situation and area of our lives, even the unpleasant ones. He is a God of second, third and even fourth chances.  He sees and knows all and His will is to bring all things to a good end.  

So no matter the situation, your Savior is Bigger and Stronger. Just keep your eyes on Him.