by Elder Peter Lim

In the last few years, the word “opportunity” has become one of my favorite words. This is a result of meditating on the various choices that we face each day. What makes certain choices in life better than others? Depending on one’s worldview, circumstances in life are perceived and dealt with in different ways. For example, one can respond to a tragic event, say the death of a loved one, by grieving uncontrollably or by recognizing that a sovereign God has accomplished His work in that individual’s life. Of course it’s understandable to grieve because we will miss them, but it should be noted by a different kind of grief than the world’s grief, knowing that nothing is out of the control of a loving and sovereign God’s hands. A correct understanding of the doctrine of sovereignty of God is the primary determining factor in shaping our worldviews. An unbalanced and unbiblical view will lead to one extreme or the other. If one has a weak view of God’s sovereignty, then we will be more likely to think less about God and more about ourselves and our ability to avoid or otherwise deal with difficult circumstances. We will also give ourselves more credit for the “wise” choices that we were able to make since a weak view suggests that God isn’t all that interested nor sovereign over the details of our life. A strong view of God’s sovereignty leads us to giving less credit to ourselves and more glory to God. The obvious danger here is that a hyper-sovereign view will lead to an unbiblical view of a deterministic God whose interaction with His creation is limited to a robotic existence. The Bible is clear that while God is sovereign and in control of all things, He cares deeply for His people. This love manifested is basically the theme of the entire Bible. Since God is sovereign, we don’t have anything to worry about when unpleasant events happen. Let me illustrate with a couple of examples which highlights physically and emotionally difficult situations.

Example 1: Diagnosed with a Terminal Illness

For a Christian, death is never something to fear. It’s more like the end of running a marathon and the finish line is within sight. It is a welcome relief from not only the pains of this world, but more importantly it is an escape from the sinful flesh that we struggle against (Rom. 7:23) and the fulfillment of God’s work in us as we are given glorified bodies which are not stained with sin. (Rom. 8:23-25) Facing death is an opportunity to share the gospel to others who don’t understand your perspective. It is an opportunity for the remaining family members and friends to share the gospel with non-Christians.

Example 2: Being Hurt by Someone Whom You Thought was a Friend

Betrayal by a friend is one of the most emotionally devastating things a person can experience. Jesus came to Earth and experienced both extreme physical pain through the cross and emotional pain because of betrayal by a friend. Most of you are probably thinking that I’m referring to Judas. Actually I am referring to the fact that His creation, people, collectively rebel against Him and shake their fist in defiance. That means you and me, not just Judas. Why the present tense? Because you and I exemplify this every time we sin. When a friend hurts us, it should be a reminder to us that we do the same thing to God. Therefore, this is an opportunity for us to be like Jesus and pursue peace and forgiveness. The deeper the hurt, the better the analogy. The one who does not graciously seek peace is demonstrating that he knows nothing about God’s grace and has ample cause for questioning whether he is truly a believer or not. When the betrayer is forgiven by the one he hurt, it is an opportunity to relive the joy of receiving forgiveness from God. It is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to fight against our sinful flesh and sin no more. Finally, it is an opportunity for the world to see that Christians can live together in peace although there has been deep hurt.

Are you currently going through some difficult times? No matter what the circumstances are, it is an opportunity to glorify God.