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Bartolome Esteban Murillo
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This morning I had an interesting conversation with my son who I believe had a dream from the Lord. He was not convinced as his faith is wavering and he is unsure of what he (a teen…) really believes. The reasoning for his uncertainty- why would God give something to someone who isn’t sure they believe in Him? One reason… God is a sovereign God and can do as He pleases. Many years ago I heard a couple of Christians say God could only heal you if you (or someone else) had faith. They were basically saying God’s power is limited by our, well, anything. If this were true, God would not be the sovereign God.
The adjective sovereign means possessing supreme or ultimate power. To say He is a sovereign God is to declare He is the Most High, and does as He pleases. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Dan. 4:35) Scriptures are chock full of the sovereignty of God:
Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 1Ch. 29:11
O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? Dt. 3:24
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves… Ps. 100:3
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Ps. 115:3
We should not dethrone God by saying He cannot do any thing. He can do as He pleases although there are things He may not choose to do, and that also is His right as supreme ruler. Let’s consider Biblical history. God allowed Stephen to die early for his beliefs, but saved Peter until later when he was martyred while John died of old age. At the pool of Bethesda
God’s sovereignty is absolute. He is under no obligation to give account of Himself to anyone at anytime. He is supreme and powerful (1Tm. 6:15,16). His power is displayed as He wills, when and where He wills, and He will not give His glory to another (Is. 48:11). If this sovereignty seems a bit over-the-top, or arrogant, consider the benefits of God’s sovereignty to us.
We can find comfort in the fact God chose and made a way for our salvation, and made it available to each and every one of us despite our sins. We can have peace and contentment in the midst of troubles by trusting in the sovereign God, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 27:1) If the Sovereign God is our Father and our Savior, we have nothing to fear. He holds our lives in His hands and no one and nothing can take our lives unless He allows it! I find much comfort in that. We can have joy and rejoice in our God (Ps. 21:1) and because we trust in Him we can have joy because we know He defends and protects us (Ps. ).
It is natural to complain when we are deprived of our hearts desires or we suffer affliction and loss. This is because we think our possessions and lives are completely ours, and so, when challenged, our heart cries out against God. “But in the one who, by grace, has recognized God’s sovereignty, such murmuring is silenced, and instead, there is a bowing to the Divine will, and an acknowledgment that He has not afflicted us as sorely as we deserve.” (Arthur W Pink) Look at Job’s response to his own troubles, “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job. 1:21)
We must remember we cannot guarantee anything except to say ‘if the Lord will’ (Jm. -15) and to make our requests to God followed by the same words as Jesus, “…nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Lk. 22:42) Thank God He is sovereign and can make sure our lives go as He plans. We can look to Him our supreme and powerful God and confidently say, “Thy will be done.” (Mt. ) and...
Blessed be the name of the LORD.