God's Sovereignty

We know from Scripture that God is sovereign – that He reigns over His creation. Job recognized God’s sovereignty in Job 42:2: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

In Lamentations 3:37-38 we read, “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?”

Paul points to God’s sovereignty when he writes in Acts 4:27-28, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

God not only created the universe, He’s actively involved in working out His good plans.

Now, I recognize that people have different opinions on the degree to which God directs and sometimes overrides people’s freedom of choice. However, I think that most Christians would accept that God is working out His ultimate plans regardless of how much our choices seem to affect those plans in the moment.

So, as Christians, what happens to us as we increasingly worship God as sovereign? How does worshipping God as the One who is firmly established on His throne and who is intricately involved in the affairs of the world influence the way we live?

In Psalm 46, we see the One who is our refuge and strength even when everything else is falling apart. The One whose voice can melt the earth. The One who brings desolations and ends wars. The One who reigns supreme says to us, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

We can be still, we can stop striving, because God is sovereign. We can rest in Him and experience His peace. No matter what happens today, God is still working out His plans.

The church board might descend into bitter conflict. A trusted friend might betray you. A family member may make a terrible choice. Your health might take a turn for the worse. You may face what seems like an unsolvable problem. The situation may seem so overwhelming that you feel like you’re slipping under the waves.

This amazing story from my friend Jackie demonstrates a thankful spirit even when life gets tough:

I was in a serious car accident the day of our 15th wedding anniversary.  To make a long story short, someone carelessly bombed out of a driveway across two lanes of traffic, trying to make a left turn around a transport parked next to the curb, and "forgot" there might be someone on the other side of that truck that he couldn't see.  

He hit me on the passenger side of my car - thankfully I was alone! - and shoved me across the yellow line into oncoming traffic...and my little Neon went into, and under, the front of another tractor trailer.  

When my car stopped, which was a miracle in itself at 55 km/hr, what was left of the front end of my car was pushed up to my knees. The grill of the truck, which broke my windshield and bathed me in glass, was close enough for me to see my reflection.

Why am I telling you this, you may ask?  Not to invite you to a funeral, or to be melodramatic...but because I felt compelled to share what God did for me in that moment that everyone dreads, when your life hangs in the balance (and I had time to see the transport coming and think, "Uh, oh, is it my time, God?").  

We want everyone to know what God is capable of, in one of those rare times that you get to see it firsthand.  By the grace of God, I walked away from my car (after they got me out) and rode with my husband to the hospital. That night, I came home to my own bed with no heart problems, no fractures and only a few, tiny glass cuts.

So this Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to celebrate God's sovereignty, protection and grace once again.  We know that He could have chosen for it to end differently, and that still wouldn't have changed the truth of His love or provision for us...

How can we be thankful, like Jackie, even when life goes sideways?

One way is to believe that God is God. He is sovereign (Psa. 93). That doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen to us. However, we can trust that God’s ultimate purposes will prevail. 

Do you ever get frustrated with life’s disappointments and detours? I certainly do. I like to move in what I think is a direct line to what I believe is God’s plan for me. Yet, God’s ways are so much higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9) and I’m learning this His ways often include detours

In 1 Samuel 9, Saul and a family servant set out to find some lost donkeys. Their three-day search takes them to the hometown of Samuel, the prophet. Upon their arrival, the servant suggests that they ask Samuel about the location of the donkeys. They proceed to do so, not realizing that God had told Samuel the day before that He was sending Saul to him so that Samuel could anoint him as the leader over Israel (v. 16). God used some wayward donkeys to get Saul and Samuel in the same place for this momentous occasion. Saul was anointed king and the donkeys were found by others. God definitely had a purpose in leading Saul on this donkey detour.

Of course, most of us do get discouraged when we encounter apparent setbacks. However, when we increasingly know God (really know Him ) as sovereign, we will believe (deep down in our hearts) that God can even cause the detours to work together for good. The detours become detours with a purpose (or DWAP’s, for short). Leaders with a high view of God’s sovereignty may get discouraged initially when faced with unexpected detours, but soon recapture hope, purpose, and confident optimism as they revel in the knowledge that their Leader is in control.