God is Sovereign (and that’s no L.I.E.)

It took a ton of time but perhaps the most powerful, practical  truth I tell others after having found and verified it firsthand is this: Believe, trust, rely on, know with certainty the absolute, untattered fact (not some fellow’s fanciful fiction) of God’s sovereignty.

While all of His attributes are equal in importance, along with love, grace, and mercy I can’t think of one which so regularly impacts my life and of which I’m so actively aware – not just on a daily but virtually hourly  basis – as His sovereignty.

Pretty much nonstop.

I’d like to share with you a time-tested, tried-and-true trio of adjectives to succinctly set forth His sovereignty: it is loving, infinite, and exclusive…

“And we know that God causes ALL things to work together for [our/Christians’] GOOD“! (Romans 8:28)
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed EVERYTHING that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over ALL. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over ALL, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.” (1 Chronicles 29:11-12) & “who works ALL things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11c) & “The lot is cast into the lap, but its EVERY decision is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:33) & “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1) & “the world is Mine, and ALL it contains.” (Psalm 50:12b)
“He who is the blessed and ONLY Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who ALONE possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)

… and that’s no L.I.E.!

God’s sovereignty allows (indeed, compels and really requires) us to be super-secure and confident in life, big benefits to be sure, but the flip-side of the same coin is that to ever complain or grumble about anything is not just an implicit but explicit denial and rejection of and unbelief in said sovereignty, since if one truly believes that He lovingly “causes ALL things to work together for GOOD” for every single Christian, there’s ZERO reason to EVER complain or grumble, which is why He commands us to “do ALL things WITHOUT grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14) and indeed to go even further than the absence of the negative and proceed to ponder, possess, and display the presence of the positive by GIVING THANKS not just “in” but “for” EVERYTHING.

“in EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
“ALWAYS giving thanks for ALL things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Ephesians 5:20)

Another consequence of God’s sovereignty is that someone who truly believes and accepts it – to the (exact) extent  he or she truly  believes it – will NEVER be anxious or fearful, NEVER experience anxiety or fear [side note: none of us can maintain 100%  faith or 100%  of the time since our still-standing-even-subsequent-to-salvation sin nature sticks itself into our lives and our finite, fallen, flawed human minds can’t completely comprehend the concept of infinite sovereignty much less its character and application… but 100% is nonetheless God’s goalpost as it were] which is why He commands us to “be anxious for NOTHING” and – yep, you got it – to go even further: ”but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

If I had to hazard a guess I’d say somewhere around 90-95% of all professing Christians would strongly and sincerely  assert belief in God’s sovereignty. But the fact that so many regularly “complain” and “grumble” and “dispute” and “worry” and “feel anxious” about one thing or another (or everything) belies their belief, so may each of us regularly take inventory of our life to CONFIRM whether these  things are prevalent in our daily living or, conversely, whether we’re characterized by constant confidence and security and gratitude, as this will tell the true tale of how and who we are – certainly spiritually but also emotionally and relationally.

Anytime  is a tremendous time to focus, fully and anew, on God’s sovereignty… but I can’t think of a better day to do so than January 1…

Happy New Year!