It's One Or The Other...

“Sometimes life throws you curve balls... you cannot have a sovereign God and have luck. You cannot have a sovereign God and have chance. You cannot have a sovereign God and have fate.” –Rev. Andy Rubin

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Andy spoke of the importance of using the sovereignty of God as the reference point by which we understand and interpret life's circumstances. As an example, our pastor spoke of Job and Job’s wife. 

After a series of catastrophic events that caused them to lose all they had, Job and his wife responded in ways that were indicative of their reference points.

Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!” In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety. (Job 1:21-22)

Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!” But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said. (Job 2:9-10)

Our pastor noted that if our circumstances serve as our reference point, then we will not have a consistency in our worship of the living God. Pastor Andy mentioned the analogy of curve balls. In baseball, a curve ball is a ball that the pitcher seems to be throwing in a straight line, but then the ball will suddenly break to the right or the left as it nears the batter. In life, a curve ball is an unexpected, unpleasant event that suddenly comes upon a person or place. For Job and his wife, there was a series of curve balls. For us in today’s context, we may face 'curve balls' that we had no idea would come to our doorstep: fires, tornadoes, job terminations, loss of loved ones, economic crises, or other things that will trouble our spirits and leave us with virtually nothing. In these times, we are warned by the example of Job and his wife: In your grief and shock, in your losses, do not withhold your worship of God. Instead, keep your focus on Him, making Him your reference point, and blessing His name even in the worst of circumstances.

What is your reference point today?