Lord Over All
Spring 2025
It can be a Christian pastime to attempt to trace the hand of God in history. An event happens and we ponder, “What is the purpose of God in this?” This question is full of faith. It arises out of a conviction that the God of the Bible is a God who is at work in human affairs. The question denies the deistic notion of a God distant and uninvolved in the details of the passage of time.
The question, however, can lead to serious errors. Sometimes an assertion is made with an air of infallibility as to the intent of God in an event. That assertion may be true or false. How are we to know the mind of God? We are helped by seeing through the lens of God’s character revealed in His Word but even then, we could say that we see through a glass darkly. There were those in Jesus’s day who presumed to understand the hand of God in the massacre of Galileans and in the falling of a tower. The Lord Jesus didn’t confirm their judgment but warned that they would likewise perish if they did not repent (Luke 13:1–5).
God at work
We have a well-articulated statement on the doctrine of divine providence in our confession of faith: “God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy” (Westminster Confession of Faith 5.1). This is simply an expanded statement of the truth espoused by Paul, “[God] worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). The Bible teaches that God upholds everything and everyone. He is over all the events of history as the sovereign director. He governs the affairs of rulers and nations and attends to the needs of sparrows and saints.
The wisdom and power of God are truly beyond our full comprehension. What is remarkable is that God is working on so many levels, in the lives of so many people, as He oversees an event that is singular, at least from our perspective. The believer is helped in his walk of faith by remembering that God is at work in all things, even if he cannot perceive all that God is doing.
Our confession asserts that God governs all things, “from the greatest even to the least.” What is remarkable is that God has His eye on the least, even as He governs the affairs of the greatest. God was overruling in Syria when the bands came and took captives from Israel as described in 2 Kings 5:2. He was chastening the people for their idolatrous practices, as they followed the example of Jehoshaphat who made Israel sin. Yet, at the same time, in the same event, He was bringing a young girl to serve in a family of a soldier who had to hear about the servant of Jehovah in Israel. Imagine the agony of the young girl and her family when the soldiers arrived at their door. Given the girl’s future testimony, it seems likely that her parents were probably faithful in a time of declension. Yet they all suffered in events, governed by the providence of God. God was governing the affairs of armies, kings, and nations, yet preserving the faith of a maid and leading a sick soldier to the truth.
It is a precious comfort to consider the Lord’s greatness in His governing of all things. Let me take you back to 1939 and ask you to consider the hand of God.
God of the Nations
On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Hitler’s Germany. They were allies of Poland, a nation invaded by the Nazi army on September 1. Neville Chamberlain’s "This country is at war with Germany" broadcast was aired just after 11:00 a.m. on the third. By 8:00 p.m. that evening the maritime conflict had begun. A German U-30 submarine had assumed the British ocean liner, Athenia, was armed and aggressive. A torpedo was fired from the U-boat, hitting the ship with 1400 passengers and crew on board. Among the passengers were 500 Jewish refugees and 311 US citizens. The vessel sank slowly, but 117 people lost their lives.
A BBC article reported, “Germany initially denied involvement fearing the US would join the war. U-boat commander Fritz Julius Lemp had mistaken the liner for an armed cruiser and the German naval authorities tried to cover up the sub's actions. They even attempted to blame the sinking on Winston Churchill, who on that very day was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. The Germans said he had ordered a British submarine to fire on the Athenia as part of a plot to force Washington's hand. The full truth only emerged at the Nuremberg Trials.”
In America, even though 28 US citizens had perished, President Roosevelt was apparently unmoved. He declared that no one was to “thoughtlessly or falsely talk of America sending its armies to European fields.” The United States would remain neutral until the attacks on Pearl Harbor over two years later.
From a biblical perspective, God was actively overseeing the events of September 3. Why was a civilian liner one of the first targets in a horrific conflict? What if Hitler’s fears of US involvement had been realized? Ultimately, we can’t answer these and other legitimate questions. There would seem to be good reasons for alternative actions. Here the Christian must beware asking “what if” questions? Here the doctrine of God’s wise providence is an anchor for the troubled soul. The secret things belong unto the Lord. The only option that is not open to us is that God lost His sovereign rule in those moments. Either God was sovereign over the direction of a German torpedo, or He is not God. “Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6)
“The Lord was in it all!”
If I was asked, “Why discuss the sinking of the Athenia in Current?”, I’d answer with the name, Betty Chestnut. Mrs. Chestnut, now in her mid-90s, is a member of our Malvern congregation. She was one of the American citizens on the Athenia.
As the clouds of war gathered in Europe, word came from America that US citizens should return home. Mrs. Campbell and her 10-year-old daughter, Betty, boarded the Athenia for that reason. On the tragic evening Betty was beneath the decks playing with a new friend. Her mother was enjoying company with others on the deck.
When the torpedo struck, the lights went out and there was widespread panic. Talking to Betty, over 80 years later, it was wonderful to hear her words, “The Lord was in it all!” She left her room and in all the chaos, considering all possible choices, she “happened” to meet her mother in the dark stairway just below deck. Believers can reflect with comfort on the Lord’s kind care in ordinary providences. They think of the Lord’s dealings with Ruth. “And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3). Seemingly chance happenings are in the hand of the Lord. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalms 37:23). Betty learned this lesson as a young girl. Her faith in the God and Father of her Lord Jesus Christ was strengthened and she holds unto God by faith to this day.
The chance meeting with her mother was the beginning of a catalogue of events. When they made it back on deck the lifeboats had already been launched. A sailor asked if there were more children and Mrs. Campbell handed over her daughter who was dropped several feet into the arms of others on the lifeboat below. We can only imagine the thoughts and fears in the heart of both mother and daughter.
The night spent in the lifeboat was a terrifying ordeal. Amid rain and rough seas, the first rescue ship, Southern Cross, arrived. Betty was then transferred, along with the other Americans, to another vessel, City of Flint which was sailing to Nova Scotia, Canada. During the 12-day voyage, a kind Captain kept a close eye on this young girl who didn’t know what had become of her mother.
Her mother was rescued! A British destroyer brought her to Glasgow, Scotland. As it happened, two destroyers docked next to each other and a woman saw Mrs. Campbell on the other ship. She recognized her and was able to tell her that her daughter had been rescued by Southern Cross. These details are incredible to report. The “chances” of these events coinciding are almost beyond calculation and are certainly beyond coincidence. The news of Betty’s safety sent her loving mother to action, writing to Betty’s aunt in Montreal. When Betty arrived in Nova Scotia, she received the news of her mother’s safety and that she was to take a train to Montreal. In the weeks that followed she would be well looked after, first in Montreal and then by another aunt in Philadelphia. Before long she would be reunited with her mother.
What was God doing when a torpedo sped across the sea? He was watching one of His dear little ones. He was working in her life, teaching her lessons of faith that would help her in the decades to come. He preserved the life of a girl who would live for His glory in the world. She would gladly testify of the goodness of God worthy of our trust. She would marry and have children. She and her husband (a Ballymena man incidentally!) would become part of the family of God in Malvern. Betty would become a sweet encourager and a woman who prayed for her minister and prayed for God’s people. God had a gift in mind for the Free Presbyterian Church in Malvern when He ensured the safety of Betty in a lifeboat!
Trusting the Lord at all times
The sinking of the Athenia and Mrs. Betty Chestnut’s story brings to our attention the truth of our Confession of Faith. “God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.” As He works in the nations, He governs the lives of the individuals.
May we be inspired to trust more deeply in God’s providence and to bear witness to His faithfulness in our own lives. We do not always know what God is doing but we always know that God is doing something well. “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalms 62:7–8).