Lisa Barry: As children, we all learned that God has the whole world in His hands. Of course, we promptly imagined a white-robed, bearded being with hands open wide and a big old globe sitting right there. I remember thinking why I could never see His white clothes or His face if He really was doing as the song said. Now that we're older, can we really believe such a thing? Not the literal holding up of the world, but the idea that God has it all under control. After all, just look at the evil in the world. Wouldn't a loving, powerful God put a stop to that if He could?

Today and all this week on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth Elliot reminds us of the many evidences in this world that proves God is still in the driver's seat. Let's get started.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking this week about "He's got the whole world in His hands." Do you know that little song? I love it.

"He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got you and me, brother, etc." I won't inflict it on you anymore-my singing-but I love thinking about the fact that God is holding the universe in His two hands. He made it. He sustains. He sees it. He loves it. He knows everything that goes on here.

I think in terms of the sovereignty of God-sovereignty meaning His control over all things. It's a calming, peace-bringing fact to remember that nothing is random. It is a tough subject, of course, one to which many Christians strenuously object. Has God really got everything under control? Aren't there some things He just doesn't bother with? Or maybe-here's an awful thought-He really can't handle?

I find that His sovereign and mysterious will, His action in the world, is a very great source of confidence and peace. I know at every moment of my existence that I am not at the mercy of chance.

A dictionary definition of sovereignty is "supremacy of rule and power." God rules and overrules the plans of men. We read in Romans 8:28, "Everything that happens fits into a pattern for good, to them that love God." Evelyn Underhill said, "Events are the sacraments of the will of God."

Now am I weighing you down too heavily with words that are not very commonly used? I've given you the definition of sovereignty-"supremacy of rule and power." Now the word sacrament. Well, you can find a very, very long definition for sacrament, and it means many different things.

But there's one thing, which to me is quite clear, and that is that a sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality. When Protestant Christians talk about the Lord's Supper, they're talking about visible things-bread and wine, or grape juice-which represent invisible truth. So let's think about events as being sacraments of the will of God-visible signs of the invisible will of God.

St. Francis de Sales wrote, "Strive to see God in all things without exception and acquiesce in His will with absolute submission. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward glance or by the overflowing of your heart towards Him. Never be in a hurry. Do everything quietly and in a calm spirit." That would be pretty hard for some of us, wouldn't it?

"Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to God. Then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you. And if you find that you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, wishes or longings under any pretext."

That's the end of the quote, and I think that it contains the secret of a quiet heart. I've written a book called KEEP A QUIET HEART. It seems to me that not very many people do that. We're so upset about things. We're in such a tremendous hurry. We don't do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.

But I do believe that the more we recognize that He's got the whole world in His hands, the less we will want to hang on to troubles and difficulties and the more peacefully we will accept the events which we didn't expect in our lives.

So once again, a definition of God as sovereign: He is supreme in power, superior in position to all others, independent of and unlimited by any other. God gave to Adam dominion, which was sovereign power over all lesser creatures. Adam, by that gift, became responsible.

For a scriptural illustration of the use of the word, we can look in Acts 4. "On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. 'Sovereign Lord,' they said, 'You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David, "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His anointed One." Indeed, Herod and Pontus Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.'"

Now here's a crucial voice for those of you who are feeling very uncertain about God's total control of things. When His holy servant Jesus was actually put into the hands of conspiring men, Herod and Pontus Pilate, does it look as though God still had the whole world in His hands?

Well, honestly, no. It doesn't look that way, does it, to us human beings. But verse 28 is one that you need to work over and over and over it again in your minds. Acts 4:28 says, "They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen." Pontus Pilate and Herod did what God's power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

Be very clear about the fact that this is not Elisabeth Elliot's opinion. I'm reading you what it says in the Bible. "Now Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant, Jesus.' After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

The recognition of mystery is something that we must remember constantly. God moves in mysterious ways. He controls men, winds, waves, and He even knows how to make an ax float and the sun stand still. Yes, that did happen in the Old Testament. And every event in life.

Well, if you don't think Romans 8:28 is sufficient, let me give you some more references. Ephesians 1:11 says, "His design, whose purpose is everywhere at work." God's purpose is everywhere at work.

2 Corinthians 5:5: "Our mortal part will be absorbed into life immortal. God Himself has shaped us for this very end." Do you think God is not going to be able to accomplish His ends? Of course He will.

Psalm 119:91: "All things serve Thee." In other words, events are the sacraments of the will of God. They are the visible signs of His invisible reality.

Psalm 40:5: "Thy wonderful purposes are all for our good." Do you believe that? God's wonderful purposes are for your good. It's not easy for us to believe that, is it?

Now imagine the story of Noah without the ark, or the story of Daniel without the lions' den. We wouldn't make much of their stories, would we, if we didn't have those incidents. But it was God who permitted them. It was God, of course, who told Noah to build the ark, and Noah did exactly what God told him to do, even though it seemed impossible. Daniel fully expected to be eaten alive by the lions in the den. He had no way of knowing the rescue that God was already planning for him. But God has got the whole world in His hands.

Lisa Barry: I have to be honest and say that I'm a little more like Jonah than I'd like to admit. Remember him? He was the one God sent to warn Nineveh to turn from their sin and repent. Jonah wanted to see the people crushed for their disobedience, but God had another plan. When I read the Bible, I sometimes wish Jesus would have destroyed all the mockers, or at least made them all look stupid in front of everyone else. But God had another plan.

I have to remember that when I look at all the evil around me, too. I want it stopped. I don't want to live among it. But God has another plan. If you'd like to be made aware of that plan daily, then I've got a great book to recommend by Elisabeth Elliot. It's called KEEP A QUIET HEART. It covers a variety of subjects in small, easy-to-digest doses. Then little by little, you'll be convinced, too, that God does indeed have the whole world in His hands.

The cost of the book is $14. You can send that, along with your request, to Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or you can call us toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Tomorrow Elisabeth reminds us that God is sovereign, even when life seems outrageously unfair. Find out more next time on Gateway To Joy.