Trust vs. Fatalism

Trust vs. Fatalism

Recently we had a neighbor get killed by a run away truck as he was buying vegetables with his family alongside the road. At first his wife was angry with God for having allowed such a tragedy. But the very next day she confessed her sin of rebellion against God and accepted his will for her life in the fatalist Muslim fashion. It made me think....what is the difference between trusting a sovereign God and believing in fate and destiny, but also in Allah who is all powerful?  Are we any different in our beliefs?

It brought to my mind the story of Ruth and Naomi.  After all the hardships and deaths that Naomi went through she says in Ruth 1:20-21, “Do not call me Naomi (meaning pleasant) call me Mara (meaning bitter), for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.  I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”  Naomi fully understood the sovereignty of God and His dealings with her.  However, what made her bitter was her lack of understanding of the goodness of God. Yes, God is almighty, all powerful and sovereign over every circumstance of my life. But His goodness is what makes me trust His heart when I don't fully understand His hand. 


When David was fleeing from his son Absolom, he says in II Samuel 15:26, "Let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him." He accepts God's dealings in his life as "good." I am learning through many different events in our life that I need to surrender and learn to trust in the "good" that God brings into my life, whether through our visa situation, or relationships, or family.  Sometimes what I see as "good" doesn't look very good to me, but I can trust in the goodness of a good God who is working all things together for my good. Lord, I do believe, help my lack of trust in your sovereign goodness.