Question text. “if all things are in God`s plan, why should we send food and aid to countries facing disasters -or try to intercede with the abuse of a child – was it his will that these things happen – should we just stand by and let them occur? After all, isn`t it in pointless if we try to interfere with God`s plan?”
Answer text. Your question is based on a total misunderstanding of the Bible teaching about the Sovereignty of God. It is the Quran which teaches that every thing under the Sun is ordained by Allah and no one can do any thing about it. The Bible on the other hand very clearly makes things plain saying that every thing that is happening in the world now is NOT according to the plan of God. Well, you may be surprised by my answer. Let me explain it to you.
That God is Sovereign is clearly taught in the Bible WITHOUT question. The whole universe was created by the Word of God (Heb.11:3). That God is the sustainer of it by His Word (Heb1:3). That it is He who sends His Sun and rain upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous (Mt.5:45). That with out Him not a sparrow will fall to the ground (Mt.10:29). That God has a plan for this earth and that He is taking it to its culmination. The Bible also CLEARLY says that nothing is too hard for the Lord (Gen.18:14; Jer.32:17,27; Lk.1:27). So we need to be aware of the fact that we are worshiping the Almighty God who is the SOVEREIGN LORD of the universe.
Having said that, I must also tell you what that Sovereignty does not mean. First of all it does not mean that God can go against His own nature. The Bible clearly says that He can not deny Himself (2Tim.2:13). He can not tell lies (Tit.1:2; Heb. 6:18). These are thus some of the limitations of the Almighty God. Can He literally do any thing and every thing? He can not. There are limitations on Him. But He CAN do what ever He WANTS to do. Man can not. In that God is Almighty. Now we have very clearly seen that He cannot lie or take back His word. See also Ps. 138:2 where it says that He has exalted His Word above His name. So once He said some thing, He will not go back or change His word. With this background let us look at Gen 1:28 where Adam was given the dominion of this earth. Read again in Psa 115:16 “Heaven belongs to the LORD alone, but he gave the earth to us humans”. We know from Ps.24:1 that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it. But He as the Sovereign Lord of the universe, has given the earth to us humans.
We are here now as God’s caretakers of this planet earth. But tragically Satan has cheated man and has taken this dominion into his hands. Listen to what Satan says to our Lord. “And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it” (Lk.4:6). Now this world lies in the hands of the wicked one (1 Jn.5:19). All that we see here by way of sickness, poverty, crime, burglary,rape and war are all the doings of the evil one using men who are under his control. Now God is in the process of redeeming this world to restore it to its original shape. Since only man has been given authority to function here, God HAD TO become man in Jesus of Nazareth and by His death and resurrection He has disarmed the devil (Col.2:15). But the devil has not accepted defeat yet. He is continuing his warfare against God by accusing God and His people.
We who trusted in Christ are the redeemed ones and the glorious fact is that we are given an opportunity to participate in the redemptive process of God. That is why we are asked to remember the poor (Gal.2:9) and to bear one another’s burdens (Gal.6:2). A day is coming when this process of redemption will be completed. And those of us who participated with God silently in the process of redemption by trying to alleviate the troubles of many around us will be honored before all in that final day. Remember Jesus our Lord taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Obvious implication is that His will is NOT done here on earth today. May the Lord help us to enter into the fold of the redeemed ones and then participate in the great process of the redemption of this world. Remember our Lord had to give away His life in this process and we too shall do well if we too are willing to sacrifice our lives for His cause on this earth. To His Name be all glory. Amen.
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