*This post was originally written in Jan 2022*
Recently, I got back from the Passion 2022 conference in Atlanta, Georgia where 55,000+ 18-25 year-olds gathered to worship their Savior and hear from Him. Some of the speakers that were there included Jennie Allen, Ben Stuart, David Platt, Jackie Hill Perry, and Levi Lusko. I really enjoyed listening to them all; however, there was one point that really stuck out to me from Levi's message, and it was this:
In His providence God can redeem what in His sovereignty He could have prevented.
When he said that, I had to mull over his words. Three weeks prior to hearing that message, I finished a book titled "Trusting God Even When Life Hurts," by Jerry Bridges. It is a phenomenal book, and I highly recommend you check it out. Moreover, that book mainly spoke of the sovereignty of God and how God is still on the throne even when things get tough. So, when I heard Levi speak that phrase it resonated with what I had read earlier concerning God's sovereignty. Not to mention, I was coming out of a season where a friend had been less than faithful to me, and I was really struggling with seeing God's sovereignty in the situation. I thought that the whole scenario could have been prevented, and though, it could have, it wasn't. God allowed some things to happen, and I found out in a very unfortunate way the truth. It really really sucked, and I became very angry...so when I heard this point in Levi's message, I stopped to consider it.
You know, Levi is absolutely right. In God's providence He can redeem what in HIs sovereignty He could have just as easily prevented. It may take time, but it is possible. With regards to my situation, God let me see the true character of someone whom I had respected. Although it hurt, although it upset me, although the way it was revealed to me made me frustrated, God still had control over every aspect of that situation. God knew that I needed to learn a hard lesson, and I am thankful that He taught me that one. Nevertheless, the circumstances that it came about were disheartening. I felt like the punch line to a really awful joke no one let me in on. It embarrassed me and contributed to some bitterness. However, God's hand was over that too, and while my relationship with one person was somewhat severed, it did not mean that it could not be redeemed or fully restored to what it once was. So, Levi was correct in saying, "In HIs providence God can redeem what in His sovereignty He could have prevented."
Although, there's four words he could have tagged onto the back of it: if you let him.
In His providence God can redeem what in His sovereignty He could have prevented... if you let him.
Sure, God can redeem broken things. He can mend broken relationships, He can heal broken hearts, and He can reconcile broken people. Yet, I find that it is the extent to which we allow Him to do His best work that determines whether or not it actually happens. You see, God is the perfect gentleman, and He's not going to force you to let Him work in your heart and life. If you don't want to forgive that person, He's not going to make you, but He is going to let you know it's what you should do. A lot of the times our pride and self-importance get in the way of letting Him work in our lives. Our poor judgment, trust issues, and self-control beg us to do anything but let God in; nevertheless, that doesn't change the nature of God's patience. He is all the same waiting for us to allow Him to do the very thing which would benefit us the most. Yet, nine times out of ten we are the ones standing in the way.
And you know what I have found throughout all of this is that, while forgiveness is hard, its not impossible. All it takes is sending someone a text message or meeting them somewhere and discussing the issue that took place (if you feel comfortable). Sometimes it helps just to talk things out. I know it definitely helped me in my situation. Once I talked to the person about it, I found peace. However, I could have gotten that peace a lot sooner if I had only made the effort to meet the person early on. I'm just thankful I've got it now. So, in order to sum all of this up, if there is a person in your life who has maybe been less than kind to you and you're a Christian, don't let what happened between you steal your joy or leave you bitter. It's simply not worth it. In His providence God can redeem what in His sovereignty He could have prevented, but you have to let Him work. Sometimes, that's a really really difficult thing to do, believe me I understand, but it is necessary to make us more like Christ.
"When I am lost, when I am broken in the night of fear and doubt still I will trust in my good Father yes, to one great King I bow! As Jesus rose, so I shall rise in ransomed glory at the throne, my heart restored, with all your saints I sing Father, not my will but Yours be done."-lyrics to Your Will be Done by City Alight
--Hailey Renee
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