The Sovereignty of God

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. 

 “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) 

The Sovereignty of God. This was the first thought that came to mind when I woke up this morning. As I lay in my bed reminiscing about life in general, the words of the scripture above came to mind.

I thought about my own life, the plans, the dreams, the ambitions I had nurtured over the years and it is amazing how much most of these have changed. Some of my desires have even changed and I have found myself focusing more and more on things that for me are of more eternal value such as leading men, women and children to Christ. For me, this remains the focal point of my life, without fear, without shame, because when the reality of life and death, hell and heaven hits you, then you begin to think of eternity and where you will spend it. I digress ...

The Sovereignty of God. His ways are higher. His thoughts are higher. Each time I read or think about this scripture, I am in awe of what a mighty God we serve. He is so mighty that He cannot be "boxed" into our thoughts, plans, desires, activities, etc. God is Sovereign. All power, honor and majesty belong to Him and nothing can change that.

He is the Creator of the Universe. He created the heavens and the earth,and everything in them. He is the Giver of life. He is the One Who determines how far the sea or the ocean can reach. He is the One Who causes the wind to blow and the sun to rise and set from one horizon to another. He is the God of all times and seasons. Nothing is hidden from Him. He sees each one of us. He created our inmost beings. He knows when we are being truthful or deceitful. He knows when we are going astray. He is ALL knowing, ever present, ALL powerful, and ALL wisdom. He is the Beginning and the End, knowing the end from the beginning. Before we utter a word He knows what is on our lips. Even when we utter falsehood, He knows what is really in our hearts. Against whom shall we compare our God? None. He is the God of yesterday, today and forever more; never changing. He stills the tempests, He causes the sand of the desert to rise up and whirl, destroying anything in its path, He created the horse and the rider, the whales in the sea, the cockroach, the little and the big animals, the plants. Indeed, God is God and He is Sovereign.

In this current life it is easy to forget that God is Sovereign because of the various innovative breakthroughs and we seem to be in control of our lives. The world is so deceptive that one can easily begin to think, "I am because I am" with more and more focus being laid on our abilities, strengths, power, rather than our frailty as humans and the need to depend more and more on God our Father. The Only I AM I know is the Sovereign God and when we think we can become "gods" then we are treading on dangerous ground. 

Growing up, we have plans, dreams and desires. Most of us always assume that life is a straight predictable path i.e. nursery school onto primary school then onto secondary school; then university education, a job, fall in love, marriage, children, build your career, build a nice home, maintain a neat circle of close family and friends for fellowship, retirement, even as we enjoy the goodies of life along the way (traveling, art, drama, music) and serve the Lord in our beautiful places of worship. You can imagine the shock and disappointment when things do not go the way we have envisioned. First, not everyone passes their primary education (including your child who even has private tutelage) or their secondary education. And then, not everyone goes to university or gets a dream job. Not everyone gets married by age 23, 24, 25, 30, 35 after building your career. Not every married couple is blessed with children, or a child for that matter. Or there are those who suffer miscarriages or lose their young ones to death. And not every marriage, even a Christian one, lasts until death do us part. And even in marriage, there are those who are hurt by an adulterous spouse (I am talking about Christians). And not everyone lives onto old age - we fall sick, we pray, but the Lord takes us home into our rest. And so many other contradictions that Sunday school or church does not prepare us for such as rape, the loss of a loved one, the destruction of property, etc. and yet we are Christians.

It is against these contradictions that this scripture came to mind for me and I thought the following:

1. In our Christian lives, even as we plan and dream and desire for things, it is important to always surrender ALL these to God through Jesus Christ. He is Sovereign and in surrendering to Him we are telling Him, "Lord, not my will but Yours Lord. Not my way but Yours." In doing so, we lay who we are before Him, acknowledging that He knows better, He understands more than we do, and He has more wisdom than we do.

2. Each time we are in His presence it is important to thank Him for EVERYTHING: the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly because He has assured us that in all things He works out everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Everything is working out for our good - we may not see it, feel it, but we can believe His Word. 

3. That we need to be in constant fellowship with God. His ways and thoughts are way high above ours and we can never rely on yesterday's wisdom for today's tasks. That is too big a risk to take. And so every step we make, it is important that we stop and consult with Him. You may seem slow, uncertain, unsure, but it is always better to stop and check on the Sovereign One, find out His counsel on a matter before plunging into something that will cause unnecessary grief or sorrow. 

4. It is important for us NEVER TO COMPARE ourselves to others. Each of God's child is unique and it is not true that just because you seem to be suffering more, you have not prayed enough or fasted enough (hoping that you are walking right with God). Each one of us has his or her lot and you know what He says about His grace being sufficient. While an individual may be battling with making ends meet, another may be flourishing and seems to be swimming in money BUT you do not know the personal struggles the latter individual has. So wherever you are and whatever you are struggling with, maintain a grateful attitude.

Well, I may not exhaust everything that is really in my heart but it is my prayer today that we will allow God to be Sovereign in our lives. Let Him guide you along the way of life. This life is not black and white; there are so many twists and turns and it is only when we put our trust in God that we begin to see life from His perspective and not from our own perspective. He is Sovereign - let's give Him that recognition in all that we do, say or do. 

God is Sovereign. No one compares to Him. Amen.