Worshipping God as Sovereign Changes Our Perspective

30 January 2021
Randy Wollf

Woman sitting in a forest looking up to God

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.

God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” He’s got this. He hasn’t abandoned you or the situation.

Sometimes, we might be afraid to act because we think we might mess things up. We think we might cause irreparable damage. Of course, we want to make the best choices possible. However, we sometimes mistakenly believe that our choices can somehow undermine God’s plans.

Lisa Bever says this: “If you think that you have blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this: You, my beautiful friend, are not that powerful.”

We can be confident that God will not be stymied by our mistakes. As Sovereign God, He can turn what looks like Plan B into something just as good and maybe even better than what we thought was Plan A.

It would be a mistake, though, to think that God’s sovereignty somehow diminishes our responsibility to be actively involved in doing what He wants us to do. We need to use our gifts and abilities to make disciples and to steward God’s creation by working in ways that support a wholesome, life-giving infrastructure for all of God’s creation.

Worshipping God as sovereign acknowledges that God is ultimately responsible for the working out of His plans. Yes, we are important contributors. Yet, He is the one who directs, organizes, and completes what He desires. We can let go and joyfully assist God as He works out His plans.

Worshipping God as sovereign changes our perspective.

Blogs in the Worship Changes Our Perspective Series

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