Lesson 12: God's Sovereignty Over Our Sin

Galatians 6:7-10 - “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

The third skeptical question that gets answered when you understand the Sovereignty of God is, "Why does suffering occur?"

The events in our lives do not happen arbitrarily. There are specific reasons why things happen to us, as a Christian, including our pain and suffering. The Bible is clear: no matter what you go through in life as a Christian, it is always due to one of four things.

The first possibility as to why suffering occurs is due to our own sin.

According to our verses above, Paul is clear about the two kinds of harvest we can have in life. If you sow good things and do good things to other people, including other Christians, you get a good harvest. If you sow to please yourself, to your sinful nature, you get a rotten harvest. Even though this is totally plain in the Scripture, people still want to blame all their problems on God, the devil, or other people. Instead of looking at themselves, instead of dealing with our biggest enemy, we blame God. We are our own worst enemy when it comes to pain and suffering!

If we are honest with ourselves, we should readily admit this. In fact, let me give you an example. I recall a time when I was going to fly back home for my tenth high school reunion. The temptation I fell for was the “trying to look good and impress everyone routine,” being conceited.


But God was faithful and He had other plans. So there I was on the plane all decked out in my brand new white shirt, white shorts, white socks, and yes, white shoes. I was looking sharp. I was happening. So the stewardess soon brought the meal and after I ate the main course, I dove into the dessert which consisted of a plastic sealed container filled with purple yogurt-looking stuff. To keep me from becoming conceited, yes, it exploded all over me and my formerly white attire. Though the rest of the flight involved people staring at me like I had a serious eating disorder, I still was not humbled because I figured I could just change my clothes. Therefore, God was not done yet. As the plane landed and we came to a halt, I bent down to pick up my briefcase. The tray table had fallen down so when I lifted my head up from the floor, I caught the corner of my eye on it which instantly gave me a black eye. Now even though I had to walk through the airport with purple goo and a black eye, leaving people wondering if I had just gotten into a fight, I still was not humbled because I thought I could get the swelling to go down. Therefore, God was not done yet. We hopped in the rental car shuttle and sat in the back beneath the overhead luggage rack. We arrived at the rental car place, and when we had stopped, I forgot about the overhead luggage rack and proceeded to smash the top of my head, producing a large and rapidly growing bump on it. At this point, all I could do was laugh and say to God, "Okay Lord, I am humbled now. I have been filled with pride; please forgive me."

God is faithful. If He has to use a bump on the head, a black eye, and a beating from purple dessert just to humble us, He will.

* What happened today that you thank God for, something that changed your focus from yourself to Him?