"In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him." --Ecclesiastes 7:14
A Tiny Teaching In A Larger Sermon
I have heard it said that God causes everything. In fact, this is something I believe wholeheartedly. Yet, after listening to a recent sermon by Douglas Crawshaw Sr. which taught that acts of God are not hurricanes and shootings and disasters (to be fair, the point of the sermon was not to debate what is or is not an act of God, but rather that bad things sometimes just happen, no rhyme nor reason, the Scripture was from Luke 13:1-9, the "repent or perish" teaching), I started to reconsider my stance, in particular my use of the word "cause".
If I say that God "causes" disasters (even though it's technically true), it sounds as if I'm saying that God literally and physically came down and spun the clouds to form hurricanes, or that God literally and physically came down and marionetted a school shooter into action. I doubt this. Correct me if I'm wrong (Proverbs 6:23).
Yet, like the pleasant times, God also orchestrates the unpleasant times:
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7, KJV)
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36, KJV)
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, KJV)
So why the nitpicking, if that teaching was a tiny fraction of the entire sermon, which for the most part, I can accept?
Mainly, to me it stuck out like a sore thumb, especially since I started to look up all the Scripture that the extreme preachers were talking about, when they say "Jesus Caused 9/11" or "Thank God for IEDs", and the like. I had to read the Bible for myself, and lo and behold, in a way, it's true. This is an uncomfortable truth, yet it's true.
Atheist Stephen Fry once said to a reporter when asked what he would say to God if Fry was in Heaven:
"Bone cancer in children? What's that about? How dare you! How dare you create a world in which there was such misery that is not our fault. It's not right; it's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?"
Mr. Fry essentially calls God evil because he rejects God's sovereignty. Here's what I mean:
Let me expand on Romans 11:36 because it requires some context. In the latter part of the chapter, Paul taught that Israel's disobedience to the Gospel led to the salvation of the Gentiles, while at the same time made the Jews jealous. Paul then said in v. 32 that, according to the ESV, God has "consigned them all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on them all."
Paul later writes that God's judgments are unsearchable and His ways inscrutable (v. 33). It is impossible for someone to figure out why God does what He does. After expanding on this thought in the next two verses, Paul finishes in v. 36 with this concluding fact:
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36, KJV)
The Experience of Job
There is another teaching about God's direction over all things through the experience of Job. Now, while it is true that Satan did the dirty work of creating Job's grief, who was the one who authorized it? God!
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” (Job 1:12, KJV)
Yet how did Job respond?
"And he said, 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away, blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21, KJV)
And what was the outcome?
"In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." (Job 1:22, KJV). The ESV says Job did not "charge God with wrong."
Think about that! Job acknowledged that God was responsible for his affliction, yet he never "blamed" God or called it "wrong".
Then in Chapter 2, God spoke to Satan again about Job:
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3, KJV)
Even God acknowledges his part in Job's affliction, even though Satan did the dirty work.
Then in v. 6, after Satan made another accusation thinking that Job's fidelity is disingenuous ("Skin for skin") (v. 4-5), God authorizes Satan to afflict Job again, this time afflicting his health. Yet, hear what Job himself had to say about all this, after his wife tells Job to "curse God and die":
“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10, KJV)
Job again acknowledged the "hand of God", even though Satan again did the dirty work. Job also accepted what God has dealt him, whether in good or evil times.
So why am I so focused on God causing disasters, and not acknowledging with equal time that God causes pleasant moments, including extreme happiness and elation (of which I was a recipient of)? I remember a quote from atheist George Carlin who exposed the double standard of the world when it comes to acts of God:
"And what can we do to silence these Christian athletes who thank Jesus whenever they win, never mention his name when they lose? Not a word. You never hear them say "Jesus made me drop the ball." "The good lord tripped me up behind the line of scrimmage." According to these guys Jesus is undefeated, meanwhile these a**holes are in last place. Must be another one of those "miracles.""
This is why we must respect both sides of the experience coin. The highs, and the lows, and acknowledge that God is the author of both.
“Stephen Fry on God.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suvkwNYSQo. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
"George Carlin quote: And what can we do to silence these Christian athletes.." AZQuotes, https://www.azquotes.com/quote/759417. Accessed 23 Mar 2025.
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