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In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we read that God makes everything beautiful in its time. It is comforting to know that nothing is wasted in God's economy, but all of it will be used for our good and His glory. You're invited to join us for poignant conversations and compelling interviews centered on believing for His beauty in every season.
Welcome to the Everything Made Beautiful podcast with Shannon Scott. This program is supported by the QAVA Podcast Network, home of streaming Bible studies, teaching series, and workshops to deepen your faith. Check them out at QAVA qava.tv. And now on with the show.
Shannon Scott:
Well, hey guys, welcome back to episode three of Everything Made Beautiful. I'm so glad that you are here. I'm so excited about what we're talking about today. For those of you who are watching as we go through this episode, you'll probably see me glance to my right a lot. And that's because I've got notes. I'm a teacher and every time I teach, whether it's Bible study or a short little thing I'm doing or a full length message, I always have notes because I've got words and I don't want to get sidetracked with what I'm saying or say a bunch of things that I wasn't planning on saying unless the Holy Spirit leads me there. So if those of you that are watching see me looking to the right a lot, I just want you to know I've got my notes. I've got my keyboard right here on my lap to page through my notes because this is so important what I'm sharing today.
We have talked in the two episodes that you have heard thus far about why we believe that God makes everything beautiful in its time. And that's based on Ecclesiastes chapter three that has a whole list of things that scripture says are appropriate in their time or in their season. And so we believe that God is making everything beautiful because scripture says he has made everything beautiful in its time. That means every season, every occasion, every thing that happens to us, both wonderful and difficult, is appropriate in its time in the economy of God. And so today I want to talk about four absolutes that govern my life and I'm so passionate about them because I've studied for two decades, that's not an exaggeration, for two decades I've been studying this specifically and I've been studying its implications on my life and that is the sovereignty of God.
So I've got four absolutes for you today that govern my life and that I believe are supported by scripture and all of that scripture will be in the show notes for you and I want you to understand that everything we talk about on this podcast is governed by this theological principle.
And I want you to hear this scripture from Psalm 135:6 that talks about the sovereignty of God among so many others throughout your Bibles. But this Psalm 135:6 says the Lord does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth in the seas and all the depths. And this the Lord does whatever he pleases, this is the Christian standard Bible version. But all of the versions of scripture say something along these lines and it means that God does whatever he wills, whatever is in accordance with his will everywhere on the earth, in heaven, in the seas, and in all of their depths. And so when we talk about the theological principle of God being sovereign, we have to understand that theology is the study of God.
So when we talk about a theological principle, we are saying, I have adopted a principle based on the study of God. And so that's what this is. The sovereignty of God is a theological principle. But to drill down just a little bit, theology can kind of be broken up for us into orthodoxy. And so orthodoxy is the correct belief, right? So orthodoxy is the correct belief. And then we have orthopraxy, which is the correct practice that flows out of correct belief. So there's an orthodoxy and an orthopraxy. And so what I believe about God will inform how I act concerning what God does. What I believe about God will inform how I process the seasons of my life.
And you have a belief about God that's either intentional or it's situational. You've either purposefully considered and studied the character and activity of God or you've adopted someone else's... maybe a pastor or your parents or the predominant belief of the person closest to you. If you've not intentionally determined something about the character and nature of God and how he operates in the earth, then you've picked it up, you've kind of gleaned it from somewhere.
Or worse, maybe you've never really thought about it. It's just kind of out there and it's not connected to down here. But sooner or later, you and I are gonna encounter things that we don't understand in our lives. Tragedies that we struggle to comprehend, betrayals that we're reeling from.
We'll experience trauma or abuse in the very places where we should have been safe. We will find the people of God acting very un-God-like. And then our belief about God will inform how we think about and respond to those difficult seasons of our lives. So over the years, as I've studied and studied and studied, there are four absolutes I believe are true no matter the season that we're in.
And so that's what I want to share with you today. These beliefs, as I said, are backed up by scripture and I'll include all of those references in the show notes. And I would highly encourage you to study this for yourself because it will become an anchor point for you in everything that you encounter and that God gives you to steward in your life.
The first of those absolutes is God is sovereign over my seasons. Completely, totally, utterly sovereign. Now sovereignty means supreme authority or absolute power as in God is not sharing his authority with anyone. God is not asking people for permission to do anything that he pleases. He is fully totally utterly completely sovereign. He has absolute authority and power now I got to tell you I love God's sovereignty right up to the point that he stops following my script. I love when God does exactly what I want him to do because he's so sovereign and then I struggle to love that sovereignty when he does something that rubs me the wrong way or rubs up against me or begins to require something of me that I don't feel like I want to give. That's when sovereignty can become a problem for us. But here's the thing, God's either fully sovereign or he's not sovereign at all. He's not partially sovereign. There's no situation.
There's no situation globally. There's no situation nationally. There's no situation locally and there's no situation personally where God is wringing his hands, wondering how to respond. At no time does God jolt and go, no, what's plan B? At no time do the words, I never saw that coming come out of a supreme God's mouth. He's sovereign.
Lorraine Boatner says, although the sovereignty of God is universal and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with infinite wisdom, holiness and love. And this doctrine, when properly understood, is a most comforting and reassuring one. Who would not prefer to have their affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness, and love, rather to have them left to fate or chance or irrevocable natural law or to short -sighted and perverted self? Those who reject God's sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left.
So God is sovereign over my season is that first absolute meaning he is fully in control. So I just wonder today, what season are you in and how can you think well about God's sovereignty in that season? But the second absolute about God's sovereignty, and if you have heard me teach, you have likely heard me say this, I say it a lot, is that nothing touches me in any season that is not first sifted through His hand. Nothing touches me in any season that is not first sifted through his hand. We must understand that the enemy of our souls is on a leash that is held firmly in the hands of a sovereign God, our sovereign God. He literally says to the enemy, you may go this far and no further. We see this in scripture over and over but two examples come to mind because we might think let's talk about what God causes and what God allows. I mean God doesn't cause things, God only allows things and the issue of causing and allowing is too much for today.
But I do want to give you two differing ways that we see the sovereignty of God play out. The first is the example of Job.
If you're familiar with the narratives of scripture, you have likely heard of Job. My goodness. Job experienced the unthinkable. I think sometimes our familiarity with scripture robs us of some of the wonder associated with these stories that we have heard over and over over years. But Job experienced the unthinkable over and over and just when we thought it couldn't get any worse it does for Job. And the book of Job is the entire experience that he goes through. His thoughts his responses his feelings the "help" of his "friends." There are so many things to learn and glean from that but I want us to think about the very beginning of the book of Job in Job chapter one. We see it say that satan and other angels have come into the presence of God so you know think about that. Satan comes into the presence of God and it says that he has come from roaming the earth and God says a sentence to satan that i want us to really pay attention to he says consider my servant Job.
So in this narrative, we see God call Satan's attention to Job. And then as it plays out, God gives Satan a certain amount of permissive opportunity in Job's life. But he draws a very clear boundary that Satan is not permitted to cross, meaning Satan cannot take Job's life. But we see a host of tragedy play out in the life of Job because God said to Satan, consider my servant Job. And we know it was a test of Job's faith. We know that it was a it was a I'll show you to the enemy when the enemy was certain he could tempt Job to curse God. But that's one option.
And then we see in the New Testament in Luke chapter 22 we see an exchange between Jesus and Peter. Now, Simon Peter, I gotta be honest with you, is my spirit animal in scripture. He was consistently using more words than he should, and I can relate to that. And so in this narrative, we see that the disciples have been arguing with one another about who would be greatest in the kingdom, which is an unfortunate display on the part of the disciples, right? And we know that Peter was often in the thick of these things. And so Jesus says to Peter something that I think we've got to pay attention to with as much as we pay attention to God saying, consider my servant Job. I want us to pay attention to what Jesus says here to Peter. He says "Simon," he calls him by that name Simon.
"Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I've prayed for you that your faith would not fail you." So in one case we have Job being subjected to tragedy, temptation, and betrayal by friends and everyone he knew and loss, incalculable loss, after God says consider my servant Job.
On the other hand, we have Peter, who after Jesus says this to him, says, I would never, ever, ever do anything other than die for you. I'm so loyal to you. And Jesus has to say, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. But in that we see that Satan has actually asked for permission to sift Simon Peter. And we see Jesus as the intercessor saying, but I've prayed for you that your faith wouldn't fail.
So for all of the, does God cause or does God allow? I just want you to see those two examples in scripture where we see Job and we see Peter. And in one hand we say, we see consider my servant Job. And on the other hand we see Satan has asked to sift you. But in each case, God's sovereign hand remains the colander through which those events are sifted. And it remains the colander through this.
through our lives, the seasons of our lives are sifted through that colander. If it's been permitted to touch me, then it has done so in God's sovereignty. And we can tend to say things like a loving God would never dot dot dot. Unfortunately, that exposes our incredibly finite understanding of a loving God, especially if we consider Job.
Even consider a parent maybe with a child who has a broken bone and if that bone begins to set but it sets improperly it must be re -broken so that it will heal wholly and completely. So the pain of a doctor re -breaking a bone must surely to a child seem cruel and even inhumane but to the loving parent
They know it's the only way to true healing and wholeness for the child. Well, so it is with our heavenly father who knows all and knows how we will be most healed and whole. Charles Spurgeon says, if you will think of those hands of which the Lord says, "I have graven you upon the palms of my hands," which is Isaiah 49:16, God has inscribed us on his palms.
"If you think of those hands of which the Lord says, have graven you upon the palms of my hands, you may rest assured that nothing can come from those hands, but what infinite wisdom directs and infinite love has ordained." So nothing touches me that is not first sifted through his hand. That is my second absolute around the sovereignty of God. The third is that everything in my season can be used for my good and his glory. Now here's the thing about God. He is a restorer. Scripture calls him the repairer of the breach. It's what he does. We see him say that he'll make beauty from ashes, that he will restore the years that the locusts have eaten. He is restorer.
My surrender is what lets me experience that his glory and my good process in motion. God has the final word over the ashes of our lives. Only he can do beauty from ashes. That's what only he can do. Only he can restore what locusts have eaten. That's only his goal, his responsibility, power, his authority. The way that I look at this is I would not be who I am today were it not for the difficult and painful things of my life. That is one way God has made those beautiful is that I wouldn't be who I am. I wouldn't know what I know. I would not be able to process what I can process or surrender what I can surrender.
if it weren't for the difficult things I've experienced, but a high view of the sovereignty of God in experiencing them. I have to trust God with those things, otherwise they are for naught. My scars tell the story of me. He's using everything and there's a mystery and there's a holiness to it. So I don't actually want to be able to fully figure out the mystery of sovereignty, but I do want to trust his word and what his word says he is doing and what his word says about his character. The last absolute beyond God just using everything in my season for my good and his glory is that God uses my seasons to sanctify me and to make me more like Jesus.
So this might be a spoiler alert, but God is in the business of sanctification of me and of you. He is conforming us into the likeness of his son. That is his goal in holiness for us is to make us more like Jesus. There's a book by Jerry Bridges who is now with Jesus, but I highly recommend that you read
His work it is all so good. And the thing I love about it is it's so easily understandable for us It's called transforming grace This is that book and it says God's ultimate goal for us is that we be truly Conformed to the likeness of his son in our person as well as in our standing Jesus did not die just to save us from the penalty of sin nor even just to make us holy in our standing before God. He died to purify for himself a people eager to obey him, a people eager to be transformed into his likeness. This process of gradually conforming us to the likeness of Christ begins at the very moment of our salvation when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us and to actually give us a new life in Christ.
We call this gradual process progressive sanctification or growing in holiness because it is truly a growth process. God never allows pain without a purpose in the lives of his children. He never allows Satan nor circumstances nor any ill -intending person to afflict us unless he uses that affliction for our good. God never wastes pain. He always causes it to work together for our ultimate good, the good of conforming us more to the likeness of His Son. So with everything, the good and the bad is appropriate in its time. And if every season and every occasion is making me more like Jesus, then I am able to surrender more fully to the sovereignty of God.
And I get to see that his glory and my good process play out in my life. Now I have to be really honest and transparent with you. I don't actually know another way to be than that with you. So I have to say, this is not some pie in the sky. Do do, do, do, do. Nothing is bad. Everything is good. Something terrible happens and I don't struggle because I have a high view of the sovereignty of God. Like none of that is true.
The sovereignty of God though is what I cling to when a circumstance of my life tempts me to do everything else. I have to cling to it because that is how I am going to endure it. When my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and when he ultimately lost his life to complications of it, I had to cling to the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God says that all the days for my dad were written in the book before one of them came to be. So that means Parkinson's disease can't steal from my dad. Parkinson's disease was one of the things that in God's sovereignty was ordained for my dad to conform my dad more into the image Christ until he saw him face to face.
That's what a high view of the sovereignty of God helps me to process related to my dad. If I think God's wringing his hands and throwing them in the air and looking for a plan B because of what happened, that's not a sovereign God. A sovereign God wrote every day of our lives in his book before one of them came to be.
What I get to do is participate in faith in trusting that God knows what he's doing, trusting that he can see what I can't see, trusting that he can see the beginning and the end and how everything in between will lead me to look like Jesus. I have to believe that God is sovereign. Scripture supports that God is sovereign. There is no way you and I can bear up under the weight of some of the things that we're going to be asked to walk through in our lives, of some things on the road marked with suffering if we don't understand that God is fully sovereign. So those four absolutes govern my life and I hope that you will study and that you will read scripture and that you will pray about them in relation to your life.
I pray that they would bring you comfort. I pray that they would bring you assurance. I talk about them passionately because I'm so passionate about them. My theology is paramount. My orthodoxy and yours, our correct belief will inform orthopraxy, how we respond and react to the things that God lets into our lives. Our behavior will flow from our belief. So because God is indeed working through every season and circumstance of our lives and because he is indeed making everything beautiful in its time, including you and me.
It's my prayer that you would ask for eyes to see that this week that you would sit with the Lord and bring before him circumstances, difficulties in your life and that you would ask him for eyes to see his sovereignty playing out before your very eyes because I promise you, I promise you, I promise you he is indeed making everything beautiful, including you and including me. I will see you next time.
Thanks for joining us for Everything Made Beautiful. We are so grateful for your willingness to tune in. Be sure to follow and download the podcast and check out the show notes for additional links and resources from today's episode. You can also follow Shannon on Instagram and Substack. This information and more is available at shannonsusannscott.com. See you next time.