031. Do you believe God ever sends trouble to us purposely, or that it comes in the natural ...

Do you believe God ever sends trouble to us purposely, or that it comes in the natural order of events?

What we call “the natural order of events” is God’s ordering. God controls all things. Every detail of our history is in His hands, and that which appears to us most natural and inevitable is just as much a part of His will as that which we think we see to be a direct interference on His part.

God doubtless permits trouble to come to us sometimes. He permits it to come when He sees that we need it. He would prevent its coming if He saw we did not need it. If we would surrender our wills to God we would not need trouble as a discipline or chastening that we do need when our wills are not thus surrendered, and we would thus escape very much misfortune. If we would learn more quickly God’s purpose in the troubles that come to us we would more speedily be relieved from them. For example, doubtless many persons are sick who might be well if they would only learn the lesson that God is trying to teach them by the sickness and then look to Him for recovery. I have known people to be in trouble for months or years, and suddenly be delivered from it when they learned to surrender their wills absolutely to God and rejoice in His will whatever it might be, and then looked to Him that they might be delivered for His glory.

Satan, as a source of our troubles, is also under the control of God. See, for example, the cases of Job (1:12,2:6) and Paul (1 Corinthians 12:7-9).