**Note: Here is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Sovereignty of God. It is raw and unedited to its final form, but I thought I’d give you another peek at where this book aims to take you.**
I have some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that we will look at God and His sovereignty in light of this definition and hopefully walk away with such a rich and deep understanding of this amazing attribute of God that it will literally change our lives and the way we approach each day. I believe that the more we understand God’s sovereignty, the easier it will be to align our will to His will, and the easier it will become to live the way God wants His children to live. Living in the sovereignty of God is how we find the strength to conquer the sins we have struggled with over and over. Understanding God’s sovereignty is the first step in bringing ourselves into subjection to Him and living fully in His grace. If you are like me, what you learn from His word about His sovereignty will be life-changing.
And here is the bad news. God is God. That means He is above us, and there are some things about Him we may never be capable of figuring out or understanding…
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV).
What this means for our study is that as powerful as this lesson on sovereignty is or as life-changing as I believe it will be, it will not scratch the surface of the true nature of God’s sovereignty. It is simply far beyond our human ability to fully comprehend. That said, I am excited to dive into what we can know about His sovereignty. What the Spirit has revealed is life-changing for us who choose to understand and apply what we learn.
We talked about sovereignty being a continuum. At one end we have limited sovereignty and at the other end, we have absolute sovereignty. In this book, we will explore the extreme to which sovereignty can exist; perfect sovereignty in all its power and glory. Sovereignty in which there is no lack or no imperfection. When we talk about God’s supreme power, we are talking about the only supreme power. There is simply no greater power that exists. When we talk about God not being controlled by any external power, we are talking about Him being exempt from the control of any existing power. When we talk about His controlling influence, we are talking about an influence so powerful it can perform the impossible in our lives.
By now, you probably have many Bible verses running through your head that demonstrate the sovereignty of God. No doubt, we will examine many of them in this book. But what I am most excited about is the, “So what?” of this study because this is where the power to transform us will come. Consider these questions...
How can living in the sovereignty of God help me conquer through my battle to overcome sin and temptation?
How can bowing the knee daily to a sovereign God equip me to persevere through any trial?
How does my free will intersect with the sovereignty of God?
How will the sovereignty of God change the way I look at suffering and unanswered prayers?
How will God’s sovereignty realign the way I look at my fellow man who is created in His image?
How will the sovereignty of God cause me to reevaluate my role as a steward of God?
This is just a taste of what awaits us as we dive into this study. But it all begins with having a clear understanding of what we are talking about. The definitions and aspects of sovereignty that we discussed in this chapter are a great starting point. In the next chapter, we will look at the claims that the Scriptures make about God’s sovereignty.
The older I get, the more evidence I see that my body is decaying. The more pain I feel, the slower I move and the more I have to rest.
But I have confidence that the I am closer each day to receiving that eternal body made to go without sleep, never hunger or thirst and will never again know pain.
I wake up each day with the knowledge that I am one day closer to having the new body that will prepare me for the eternal praise and worship I will give my God.
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16-17 ESV).
Where I live, it’s cloudy outside. I went out to check the mail and looked into the clouds. It reminded me of the verses I am thinking about which will be the focus of my next “Tuesdays With Tony” post:
“And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62 ESV).
“Coming with the clouds of heaven...” This is a description of divinity as seen in Daniel :
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.” (Daniel 7:13 ESV).
So as I looked up into the clouds, I thought to myself, “I am looking at the scene in which Jesus, the Son of Man, will return in His glory.
The next time you see the clouds, imagine Jesus returning with them. You will never look at a cloudy day the same again.
“But the day of the Lord
will
come like a thief, and then the heavens
will
pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies
will
be burned up and dissolved,
and the earth and the works that are done on it
will
be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:10 ESV).
Question: What are you waiting for?
“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,” (2 Peter 3:11 ESV).
Jesus, what have I sacrificed for You?
Jesus, what have I suffered for You?
Jesus, what have I given up for You?
Jesus, what I have laid down for You?
Please, Jesus, help me see what I have done, but more importantly, what I can still do for You.
Help me trim my lamp so I can be found ready when You return.
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;” (Revelation 19:7 ESV).