Am I Being Misunderstood?

I believe in the absolute sovereignty of God.

I believe that God can do know wrong. He may do things that I do not like or understand, but my understanding is nothing compared to His infinite wisdom. There are times that I see the things God has done, and cannot make sense of them. But I am not here or able to comprehend, with my finite mind, the infinite wonders and actions of my God.

I believe that God sometimes takes action in response to our sin. Let me correct, He always takes action in response to our sin, but sometimes that action is appears to us as inaction. This action (or apparent inaction) is motivated out of His love for us, and His desire is to draw us to Him. David's son, Ananias and Sapphira, Jonah's dying plant come to mind as examples of his actions.

I believe that God sometimes takes action because He has a sovereign plan, and it has nothing to do with a response or a punishment for sin. While that action might appear punitive, or we might see it as punitive, it is not. I think of the man born blind. When asked whose sin was the reason for his blindness, Jesus responded that it was not due to anyone's sin, but that God might be glorified through him.

I believe that our God is a wonderful God. I believe this even though things don't always go the way I desire. My daughter will spend several hours today taking her IV treatment for the CIDP, a disease she contracted from taking a flu shot. Since she is not responding to these treatments alone, she has also been started on a large does steroid. This will have some side effects, especially at first, but it is the recommended course of treatment. I know that God could take this from her, but He has not chosen to do this yet. I love my daughter, but this does not make God any less precious to me. I don't know His purpose in this, but I believe that we are all in His hands, and that is all I need to know. Much like Paul, I want to be able to say that His grace is sufficient for me and for my family.

To sum up...I believe that God is sovereign, and in control of the universe. I believe that He acts as He will, sometimes healing and sometimes not, to fulfill His purposes. I believe that some actions of God are punitive, while others are not. And that it may be sometimes difficult for us to  know which it is. I trust God. Even should something even more traumatic happen tomorrow, this world is only a temporary place, and my eternity will far outweigh any suffering that takes place on earth. I don't always have to get my way.

That is what I believe.