God Decrees Calamities

There are a couple of verses in the Bible that are hard to swallow for most people. Those are:

I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things (Isaiah 45:7).

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? (Lamentations 3:37-38).

These verses communicate that God does decree not only times of success and prosperity, which many false teachers will twist to suite their own desires, but also that God decrees calamities. There are times that God will allow hard times in the life of a believer and, at times, the world at large. Nothing does not happen in this world without a decree from the Lord.

For those who were not aware, in 2007 I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. As I was going through chemo treatments, one of the questions I asked is why is this happening to me. As I was going through a treatment, I was reading a book by Chuck Swindoll, which said (I do not recall the exact wording), whatever you are going through God meant it for you. It was not an accident. In that moment, I began to realize that God allowed this to happen to me and gave me the grace to accept it.

My chemo treatment was 12 years ago, which I am grateful for the kindness of God for allowing me to remain alive on earth to be used for His glory. Thankfully, after that time, the Holy Spirit began to convict me of the false teaching I was believing and there were sins that I needed to repent from. God never told to why I was given cancer over 12 years ago, nor should I expect an answer from Him, but I know two things:

First, it was for His glory and my good.

Second, it was decreed by Him.

What happens in our lives was and is decreed by God both good and bad. God is in control of this world and to think that he has not decreed calamities in this world makes Him not God, who is sovereign. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we know not only has God decreed it, but He will use it for His glory and our good. Yes, we live in a fallen world and there will be sickness and diseases, but we are also under a sovereign God, who is in control.