Directionally Challenged: Finding Our Hope in God’s Sovereign Plan
“Where is God?” As a pastor I hear this question a lot. As a human being I’ve asked myself this question probably more times than I’ve heard it.
Many of us struggle with seeing how God could be in the middle of horrific and overwhelming situations. We often ask ourselves how a loving God could permit certain things to happen to us and our loved ones. In the midst of these circumstances, we as follows of Christ often question whether or not God is actually in control of everything and if He is powerless to have prevented the circumstances in question.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to Philemon, a real life drama unfolds before us.
Onesimus, one of Philemon’s slaves has robbed his master and has escaped.
Philemon is an elder in the church of Colossae. The church actually meets in his home for their gatherings. Philemon by all accounts from what Paul writes (Philemon 1-7) is a loving and faithful servant of Christ. He is commended by Paul for his love towards the saints (V5), which has refreshed many of them in the faith (V7).
Onesimus is a slave who does not live up to his name. Onesimus means ‘useful’ however according to Paul, at one time he had been useless to his master, especially for the fact that he has stollen from him and ran away (V11).
At some point after arriving in Rome, this useless nobody/ slave ends up meeting the apostle Paul and getting converted to The Way (V10-16). Now that he is a fellow believer in Christ, Paul probably encourages him to go back to his master Philemon and make right the wrongs that he had caused.
And so, Onesimus makes the the long trek back to Colossae from Rome, heads to his master’s house not knowing if Philemon will have mercy on him or kill him (Roman law allowed for this to occur to a run away slave that had been apprehended) for what he had done. Upon arrival he would be face to face with Philemon and would hand him the letter from the beloved apostle.
What strikes me about the sovereignty of God in this text is found in V15 and 16.
“For this perhaps is why he has parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother- especially to me, but how much more to you, both in flesh and in the Lord.”
Nowhere in Paul’s letter to Philemon does he address the treatment of slaves. I can just imagine that if Philemon was such a man of love that he would probably have been the first master that showed Onesimus any level of dignity and care. It was a blessing for Onesimus to have arrived in the house of Philemon. And yet, despite the love shown to him, he robs his master and runs to Rome.
For the most part we could chalk up the fact that Onesimus had become Philemon’s slave to chance, however the very idea that he would then run into the apostle Paul in Rome is no coincidence at all. Paul even suggests to Philemon that perhaps what had occured in his household happened so that Onesimus would become Christ’s.
God was trying to get Onesimus’ attention and in Rome…he finally got it.
God in his sovereignty, used every step of Onesimus’ life to direct him back towards Himself.
God is trying to get your attention.
Many of our lives haven’t worked out the way we have wanted them to. Many of us have taken paths that we never thought we would be on and at times feel like mistakes.
Does God make mistakes?
You might not be on the path you thought you would be on, but you are on the path God knew you would be on. He has obviously allowed you to take some turns that may not have been the best, but ultimately…he did it so that he could get your attention. Ultimately he has allowed your life to take the turns it has for this very reason…To point you and others to Himself.
I know, that doesn’t make whatever you are going through easier, but God never promised that life would be easy. Jesus never said that if you had Him in your life that everything would go well for you. What he did promise was that he would give you His Spirit to guide you in those times and through the apostle Paul He says that “…for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purposes.” (Romans 8:28)
Ultimately this comes downs to whether or not you believe that God is sovereign, that God is in control of everything and that He directs and permits everything that occurs in this world.
If you do believe this, than you have to trust that he has your best interest at heart, whether that means blessing or discipline.
If you do believe in God’s sovereignty you have to trust that what is happening is so that God can point you and those around you to Himself.
God is trying to get your attention through the circumstances of your life.
Are you paying attention?
I love how you describe our challenges and life etc. as God trying to direct us back to Him. It is so true. Through each trial and challenge He is shaping us and molding us and refining us into better people to become more like Him and to one day return to Him.