Not Into Temptation | God Is Great

I wonder if you’ve ever lost work on a computer because it crashed. It happened to me the other day. I let out a loud “Nnoooo!” as my head hit my desk. To whom was I speaking? The reality is, though I might not have admitted it, I was crying out a “no” to God and his sovereignty. I was rejecting his sovereign rule over my life. “No, God, you don’t know best. Your rule is not good. Otherwise why would you let this happen?”

In Mark 4: 35– 5: 43 Jesus displays his control over the natural world, over the spirit world, over sickness, and even over death. The stories are told to highlight Jesus’ complete authority. He brings a girl back from death as easily as you or I might rouse someone from sleep. All the time Mark presents the alternatives of fear and faith. The disciples are afraid in the storm. Among them are experienced fishermen, so this is no irrational phobia. Yet Jesus rebukes them: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (4: 40). The people see the demon-possessed man in his right mind and fear the power that tamed him (5: 15). The sick woman comes before Jesus with “fear and trembling” (5: 33). But Jesus speaks a word of peace to her. Because of her faith, she has no need to fear God. Jesus’ word to Jairus is the punch line of the section: “Do not fear, only believe” (5: 36). God is greater than all the things we fear. These stories don’t teach that we’ll never face sickness or death. Instead they teach us that we needn’t fear the circumstances of life because God is in control. He works good for us in every circumstance. He’ll bring us safely home to glory. Death is not the last word: the last word is “Talitha cumi!”—“ Little girl, I say to you, arise” (5: 41).

What happens when you don’t truly trust God’s sovereign control? You might try to take control yourself in harmful ways, through manipulation or domination. You might wear yourself out with busyness or frustration. You might make your security and wealth a bigger priority than God’s kingdom (Luke 12: 22–31). Or you might worry (Philippians 4: 6– 7). We become preoccupied with the bills, and money becomes our main obsession. All because we don’t believe our Father knows what we need. Jesus goes straight to the heart of the problem— our little faith:We often associate the sovereignty of God with theological debates. But for all of us it’s a daily practical choice. For me, the issue is escapism. I have to choose between a fantasy in which I’m sovereign and the real world in which God is sovereign, between my false sovereignty and God’s real sovereignty. When I feel like running away, I have to choose to find refuge in God.