A Throne In Heaven

Things don't just "happen" in this world. A sovereign God has written the script for the drama we call life. The world is not hanging in the balance, with the outcome yet to be determined. Some people seem to believe that the throngs of heaven are on one side of the stadium and the demons of hell are on the other, each hoping their side wins. Within the context of their twisted theology, it becomes man’s decisions that will determine who wins. Meanwhile, God is keeping His fingers crossed. With that perspective, it’s no wonder that so many experience such anxiety!

That line of thinking is nothing less than religious humanism and is an insult to God’s sovereignty. It puts man in the driver’s seat and makes God nothing more than a nervous passenger who is doing all He can do to make sure everything turns out all right. It’s a perspective that portrays God as sometimes encouraging us, sometimes threatening us, but always hoping that man will respond in the right way.

All of heaven isn’t holding its breath waiting to see how things turn out in the end. We aren’t at the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and the enemy’s home-run slugger up to bat. The fact is that eternity’s headlines have already been written. They read, “God Wins!”

When John saw the throne of God in heaven (see Rev 4:1-2), there was Someone sitting on it. Sitting – not standing. (See also 1 Kings 22:19; Isaiah 6:1; Daniel 7:9) Your heavenly Father isn’t pacing the corridors of heaven worrying about how things will be resolved. He’s seated because He already has it all worked out, to the last detail. Being omniscient, nothing takes Him by surprise. He already knows everything. There aren’t any unknown variables that will cause Him to need to react. God doesn’t react. He only acts.

If His omniscience gives Him knowledge of everything, His omnipotence means He has the power to do something about it. God is all powerful. The Bible teaches that He will do whatever He wants and nobody or nothing can stop Him. (Daniel 4:35) Why He sometimes allows things to happen that seem wrong to us and won’t allow things that seem right to occur are hidden within the mystery of His sovereign wisdom. It doesn’t sit well with our human ego, but God’s job is to be in charge. Ours is to trust. That’s the only way we will ever be content in life.

Either God is in control of everything that happens or we couldn’t be sure He is in charge of anything. Sometimes when evil things happen in this world, some well meaning Christians will argue, “God had nothing to with that!”

Is that so?
Did He know about it in advance?
Did He allow it?
Could He have stopped it?

The obvious answer is yes. God is connected to and stands in authority over everything. Anything outside the realm of His control would be as great as Him, and nothing is as great as God.

If you can think of things that have happened which you believe God could not have prevented, then a horrifying question must be considered. What else might happen that’s beyond God’s control? If God can’t prevent some things from happening; if some things are beyond His will and control, then maybe the worst is yet to come! There would be no reason for us to ever have even a trace of contentment in life if a single thing can happen apart from God’s control.

Thankfully, the truth is that nothing can happen independent of His authority. Why, then, does God allow events that seem terrible to us? Only in heaven will we learn the answer to some questions. In the meantime, we need to be sure that we don’t try to understand who God is based solely on our circumstances. To the contrary, we must interpret our circumstances based on who God is, and by what we do understand about Him. There’s one thing we know for sure about God – He is love. (1 John 4:8)

Don’t try to understand God by your circumstances. Look at your circumstances through the grid of God’s love and like Paul, learn to be content in whatever circumstances you are in at the moment. You can be content because the victory has already been won for every battle you’ll ever face.

Do we really believe it when we sing,

“Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.
Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home?”

It’s called home because we already live there. In some way that defies the ability of our human minds to grasp, you and I are actually already seated with Christ beside the throne of God. The Apostle Paul wrote:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"(Ephesians 2:4-6).

Harry Ironside, a great preacher of the early 20th century once had preached on this passage just before he greeted a young child after the service. “Did you enjoy the message?” Ironside asked the little boy.

“Yes, sir,” the child answered.

“What did you understand from my sermon?” Ironside asked.

“Well,” answered the boy, “I didn’t understand it all, but I learned one thing. We’re sittin’ pretty, ain’t we?”

There’s a good reason for us to have peace – in Jesus Christ,“we’re sittin’ pretty.” When we trust in the sovereignty of our loving Father over the details of our daily lives, peace will permeate every aspect of our existence. If it’s true, as the old spiritual song says, that “This world is not my home. I’m just passing through,” then why seek contentment from this brief stopover? Look through the open door and recognize that your Divine Lover is sitting on a throne, ensuring that everything is unfolding according to plan.