Healing Words for Hurting Hearts

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.
—Psalm 103:19

We have all heard about frivolous lawsuits. But the one that takes the cake was in 2008, when a Nebraska senator named Ernie Chambers filed a lawsuit against God, seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty to prevent Him from acts of violence such as earthquakes and famines and tornadoes. Judge Marion Polk dismissed the lawsuit on the basis that God has an unlisted home address and thus could not be properly notified.

Few of us would have the courage to sue God for things we disagree with. But many of us secretly harbor questions about the Almighty’s actions, especially when it comes to suffering and evil. Perhaps the greatest quandary of the Christian faith is this: If there is a God who is loving and good, then why does He allow suffering and evil in the world?

People offer different explanations for that question. Some say God would like to stop suffering and evil, but He is unable to do so. Other people suggest perhaps the reason for suffering and evil is that God is evil. Some people say that suffering and evil prove there is no God. But there is a fourth reason. It is politically incorrect, but Scripture says that God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in His universe, even suffering. God is not the instigator of evil, but He claims responsibility for everything that happens in His creation.

Psalm 103:19 says, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” For God to be sovereign means He rules over everything in His creation. God says in Isaiah 45:6-7, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.”

Now, the fact that God is sovereign in and of itself doesn’t necessarily offer us comfort. There is another truth about God revealed in Scripture and that is God is good. I remember watching an interview on ABC’s “20/20” with Barbara Walters. She was interviewing one of Saddam Hussein’s many mistresses, who said one of the things Saddam liked to do for entertainment was watch videos of prisoners being tortured. Now how do we know that God is not some sadistic sovereign who enjoys inflicting torture upon His children and watching us writhe in pain? It’s because the Bible reveals that God is a good God. Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” When we are suffering, we must remember that God is sovereign, and He is good.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Healing Words for Hurting Hearts” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.