Good, Not Safe

“Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion.” 

“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion…” 

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

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I’ve never been one to struggle with the reality of God’s sovereignty. Namely, that lofty doctrine whereby God declares that there is not a single iota of reality, visible or invisible, that is beyond His knowledge and control. He not only knows all, but He is above all, in control of all; the nations and cosmos are as dust in the scales to Him; pieces of lint stirring around in His pocket, unnoticed. Indeed, He is untroubled by the threats and howls of men, demons, and everything in between.

God’s sovereignty over all things is manifested perfectly in His ordered maintenance of the created order, and in the universe by extension. The stars and black holes are able to keep their pace and path in the dark corridors of the cosmos because of their guide, the Lord - without Him, they would soon lose their way in the darkness, just as we would. Indeed, without the Lord’s upkeep of this world and universe, it would soon crumble and waste away, for “in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). As R.C. Sproul once put it, there cannot be even a single maverick molecule in the universe apart from God, for if that were to be the case, then He would cease to be sovereign. If He is not utterly sovereign over everything, then He ceases to be who He claims to be; He ceases to be God. Like Narnia’s Mr. Beaver puts it, “He’s the King, I tell you.”

Not only is He sovereign over the world of birds, beasts, and creeping things, but He is Lord over all creatures. And, as the psalmist pens, “Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). Whether it be kings, presidents, monarchs, angels, or demons, all bow the knee at the feet and will of the one true King, the Lord Jesus. He is intimately involved in the affairs of men, steering the course of history according to His will - for, after all, what is history but ‘His story’? Men may draw issue with this reality if they like, but it will do no good - the Lord is God, and God He’ll stay. In the words of Vernon McGee, 

“This is God’s universe, and God does things His way. You may have a better way, but you don’t have a universe.”

The Bible is clear and unapologetic about the fact that God is sovereign in both creation and salvation. To walk away from Scripture thinking otherwise, one would first have to read the Bible upside down and backwards in a different language while being blindfolded in an entirely darkened room. Then, and perhaps not even then, one may begin to conclude that God is lacking in His power and dominion over all things. 

Now, I began by saying that I’ve seldom doubted the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. While that may be true, I often fear that my grasp of, or ‘belief’ in, God’s sovereignty is limited to an intellectual affirmation rather than one founded upon the truth and veracity of His perfect character. Even when we grasp the reality of God’s sovereignty, it is nonetheless all too easy to doubt God’s goodness.

When calamity and frustration strike within my own life, I feel as though my initial response is quite ‘agreeable’ with the truths outlined in Scripture. Like Job, I find it easy enough to say, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). When the tempests blow up against my life, when the rug beneath my feet is pulled, it is a great comfort to cast myself upon Him who accounts for every sparrow in the heavens, every lily of the field, and every hair upon my slowly-graying head.

However, in due time, my soul begins to grumble. I, like Job, if only ever in the depths of my own heart, begin to question God. Indeed, the intellect can only take one so far. At no point have I ever questioned God’s sovereign hand, His ability to work “all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) - it’s His heart towards me that I so quickly cast a shadow on.

In the moment, when heartbreak and sorrow come knocking, I have often said and done all the right things, all the while not allowing the depths of these truths to truly penetrate my heart. I have often rationalized the situation in this way: I know that the Bible is true and that God is sovereign over all things, including this situation, even if it’s hard to believe at the moment. I can do the whole song and dance of ‘wrestling’ with God’s sovereignty in the storm, only to come out on the other end in due time and see Him for who He is, or I can just trust Him now - either way, the destination is the same, best not to waste precious time.

As a young man, just after my father passed away, I responded in this very manner. I knew that God was sovereign, but an intimate knowledge of His enduring goodness escaped me in the moment. I put on a brave face, said the right things (all of which I believed, mind you), and did my very best to direct others to God’s sovereignty in the midst of a trying and sorrowful circumstance. I knew that God was good, but I did not taste it yet. 

And because I did not taste the goodness of God, I soon became uneasy. I began to question God, to grumble against Him. The razor-thin veneer of my faith in God’s character was exposed, revealing a heart brimming with self-pity and entitlement. It was only after God drove the white-hot spike of His Word through my mind and into my heart, joining the two, that I began to see His goodness yet again. A goodness that was not independent of, or in submission to, His sovereignty, but in perfect union with it. A goodness that was indivisible from His divine power, infinitely intertwined with it for our good and His glory, working all things “together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). 

Indeed, I began to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). My faith took refuge in the one true God; He who is not safe, but good. And what a joy it is that God is good, but not safe. An all-powerful and sovereign God without goodness and love is a horror beyond our darkest imaginings, a cosmic tyrant of infinite proportions; and yet, a good God without infinite power, one who is unable to exercise perfect dominion over the work of His hands, is a fickle, pathetic God, no God at all. In our trials, God reveals Himself as both sovereign and good, so much so that the two attributes cannot possibly be divorced from one another or His character.

Like Job, sometimes we are brought through the storms of life by His sovereign hand without ever knowing why - but we can rest assured that He is good. Perhaps we become battered and bruised through the ordeal, but it is of little consequence. In the end, we are altogether blessed because we can see Him for who He is on the other side of the whirlwind. When I first became aware of His enduring goodness, intimately aware, I penned a poem titled “Sovereign” in response. Like Job, what could I do but worship when confronted with the living God? Indeed, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5).

Sov·er·eign

“Hands of rich timber, might Divine,

With unknown brilliance maketh fine;

Alone able to form sea and sky,

Eager to give the weary where to lie.

Ten trillion suns tribute to Him give,

Yet through Him does the lily live;

Heavenly hosts bathe in light where He abides,

O, all these and more, in His mind resides.

The One who tames cold, distant star,

Is not deaf to child’s cry from afar;

Mighty King, ancient One, in majesty,

Is ever clothed in robes of humility.

God of bird, beast, creeping thing,

Is glad to hear His creatures sing;

He whose very crown is flaming holiness,

Ever inclines towards us in lowliness.

Chief among all beings is He,

Yet how is it He ponders over me;

With every sin He does ache in pain,

His own blood has rinsed every stain.

The mighty storm, the sea, speak His name,

Though in His heart is shelter from the rain;

Residing in the realm of heaven’s highest court,

Lives an eternal and everlasting port.

Roaring as a lion upon His great white throne,

Yet a shepherd, every sheep is surely known;

Clothed in fire, wreathed with a mighty mane,

The sovereign King, who shall forever reign.”

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Photo by Keyur Nandaniya, Unsplash