The sovereignty of God
There’s this old farmer whose horse ran away one day. His neighbors came to visit and muttered their sympathy for his “bad luck”. The next day the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “Now that’s good luck!” the neighbors exclaimed. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg. The neighbors called it “a misfortune.” The next day, the army came to the barrio to draft young men into the army, but when they saw the farmer’s son's broken leg, he was excused. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good fortune. In those four days, the farmer simply answered, “maybe.”
Now, was the horse good luck or bad luck? Was the farmer a philosopher who believed no incident in and of itself can truly be judged as lucky or unlucky and only time can tell what it actually is, or he simply didn’t care? Many of us vacillate between the two or even have other explanations why things happen as they do, the same event treated sometimes as bad and sometimes as good. It’s still part of fatalistic mentality.
Consider the life of Joseph in the New Testament. Hated by his brothers, almost killed, thrown into a well, brought to Egypt to be sold as a slave, accused of rape, and thrown into prison, he suffered for around 17 years, but in the end became the governor of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. Then there’s Daniel, enslaved and exiled to Babylon after the utter destruction of Jerusalem, he eventually rose to a prominent position under four Babylonian kings. Were their initial experiences good or bad? Fortunate or unfortunate? Lucky or unlucky?
What the two have in common were their unbelief in fate and their common belief and trust in God. We often use the terms omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient in describing God, but this can be said in one word --sovereign. God is the source and creator of all things, and his sovereignty is his right and power to do all that he decides to do. And all that he does is good and for our own good. Only he alone is good as Jesus said in Mark 10:18. When what seemingly is good or bad happens, it may not be really the case like the neighbors vacillating on their opinions on the farmer’s horse. Ultimately, the truth is what God desires in his sovereign will.
When his brothers asked for forgiveness when they met again in Egypt many years after, Joseph told them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20). Things may look good or bad, but to them who love God and are called to his purpose, all things always work together for good (Romans 8:28). If we learn to trust in God and surrender our lives to him, then there’s no good or adverse events, lucky or unlucky, progress or setbacks. God alone is sovereign.
It has been a week since the elections, but the fever has not died down yet. My closest friends have chosen to shut down their social media pages to get rid of the toxicity. Apparently, supporters of winning candidates just couldn't get enough of their victory that they want others to move on. Yet for those who found the polls as a big battlefield for the country, they aren't surrendering just yet. They are in for a bigger fight ahead.
Lucky are those who are sure of the next steps to take after despair. However, those whose hearts are shattered by the results are still unsure on what to do next. Some of my students, my younger cousin, and other first-time voters keep on asking the rhetorical question of "what now?" To this group of people who poured their heart, energy, and time into strategic campaigns which they thought would win, the results are just hard to digest.
Experts say that grieving is normal. When your candidate did not make it, then accept this fact. Allow yourself to reel in the emotions that come from the situation. Put into context the historical value of having a new president whose family the Filipino people tried so hard to drive away. Understand that this part of history has been diminished in value because of disinformation but never stand down to the truth that you know.
Once that's all in place, get a feel of the next administration's atmosphere. Does it compromise the ideals of democracy? Has anyone's right to a free press and to peacefully assemble been trampled upon? When the answer is yes to these questions then raise these issues in the proper forum. We cling on to the hope that light shall be shed on the injustices.