Understanding the Sovereignty of God

Life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns and ins and outs…well, you get the picture….and for that reason alone, each of us often struggle to understand what it all means…who is in control and what is my responsibility as I struggle to take charge in my own life.

We are constantly bombarded with problems, trials, troubles and an occasionally, a happy moment….at least that’s the way it often seems to us as we make our way through life. When we look around at the path that our life has taken, we try to correct our course, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back in the game. After all, that is at the very least our responsibility …to use our free will to decide to make things better for us and for the ones we love. But, sometimes, when we look at our circumstances, we realize that we can do nothing but accept our situation and trust in the sovereignty of God.

Ah, the sovereignty of God….now, there’s a concept that even the brightest, most intellectual minds of the ages have wrestled with …always to no avail. In fact, scripture tells us that we can not understand the mind of God and in Romans 11:33 we read, “Oh, the depth of the riches of both wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”

The following is a rewrite of a devotional from Dr. David Jeremiah that I think gives great insight into this topic of God’s sovereignty….

The great minds of history have always struggled to understand the issue of the sovereignty of God versus the free will of mankind. Some day in eternity we may discover how the track of God’s sovereignty and the track of our responsibility finally come together. But the way we should look at this is really very simple….Let God take care of His sovereignty and let us take care of our responsibility. God’s sovereignty explains things that humans cannot possible fathom.

The sovereignty of God in our lives, at least from our perspective, is like looking at a weaving of a tapestry from the wrong side. We see all the various threads and knots and strands sticking out and can’t begin to even imagine the finished picture. We see it from the back side because we do not have God’s perspective…but someday, in eternity, God will take that patchwork that we have looked at and failed to understand and He will turn it around….then, we will see the beautiful tapestry that has been woven out of our lives. At last, we will see what God has seen all along.

Yes, you and I can spend our entire life trying to figure out why God does this or why He did that or what is He going to do next…or we can rest in the knowledge that GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND HE IS IN CONTROL!!!! We can make ourselves sick with worry over how something is going to turn out or we can trust that God always knows what is best for us and that He is at work to accomplish His plan. I have always held firm to the belief that when you can not see the hand of God at work…you can ALWAYS trust His heart.

So, if you are searching for security in this ever-changing, diabolical world, then rest secure in this truth…. GOD KNOWS BEST AND HE NEVER FAILS TO TAKE CARE OF HIS OWN. He will not fail you and there is nothing that can snatch you from His hand…..on that you can build your fortress.

Trusting in my Heavenly Father…for He knows Best,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

God is at work today

As He weaves your tapestry;

So honor Him in all you do

And trust His sovereignty.

WPQ@2009