The Sovereign God's Care For His Own

In the season of Lent we focus on our weakness, our frailty, our sin, and our suffering. We do this because it is right that we remember our desperate state. It is only in our desperation that we can truly understand the gift of God in Christ.

Suffering is not pleasant but it is good because it drives us to Christ and demands that we trust in him and in the gracious care of the Father that we receive in Christ.

Dr. David Powlison has written an encouraging article reminding us that no matter what suffering we face, God is at work, tangibly present and active to care for his people even (and perhaps especially) in suffering.

“Your significant sufferings don’t happen by accident. There’s no random chance. No purposeless misery. No bad luck. Not even (and understand this the right way) a tragedy. Tragedy means ruin, destruction, downfall, an unhappy ending with no redemption. Your life story may contain a great deal of misery and heartache along the way. But in the end, in Christ, your life story will prove to be a comedy in the original sense of the word, a story with a happy ending. You play a part in the Divine Comedy, as Dante called it, with the happiest ending of any story ever written. Death, mourning, tears, and pain will be no more (Rev. 21:4). Life, joy, and love get last say. High sovereignty is going somewhere.”

As you read Dr. Powlison’s encouragement, think of your suffering, your weakness, your failure, and as you consider these things look to God and find peace and rest in his sovereign care.