God is Sovereign Over All
Day Nine
by Gini Crawford, MSW
www.BecauseOfGod.com<
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The One True God is sovereign.
God is the supreme ruler of the universe. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords who reigns eternally. Only God has the freedom and power to absolutely do what He wants; so as our loving King, His desire was to fight to the death to save us. (1 Timothy 1:17). Compassionate sovereignty, isn't it?
As you know from history, kings and rulers come and go; but the One True God's sovereignty will never cease. There is no human or demonic force that can control or defeat God. There is no military force, nor any weaponry, even from our high tech world, that will ever destroy or conquer God and His kingdom. Revelation, chronologically the last book of the Bible, ends with God and His kingdom in absolute dominance over the magnificent New Heavens and Earth that God had just re-created. (Revelation 21:1-5). This should give us all unwavering hope and anticipation, because as Christians we are in God's everlasting kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18; 2 Peter 1:11).
...O Lord... are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. 2 Chronicles 20:6 NASB®
We all have battles throughout our lives. Some of the battles are very brutal, such as relational betrayal, health problems, or perhaps real military battles. These battles can easily make you fearful, anxious, or worse. But we need to remember, God is our conquering and victorious King, Who is with us through it all (Deuteronomy 20:1-4). My son was in many battles in Iraq, and would tell you God was there with him. Do you allow God to fight your battles with you?
Our loving Sovereign God
As you will see by reading Isaiah 40:10-28, God is the sovereign ruler over the whole universe. He created all things and easily controls them. The most powerful world leader is nothing compared to the One True God, as King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter four would say. However, God always rules with compassion and care. Isaiah 40:10-28 is summarized below:Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him... Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in a pair of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, and informed Him of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust... All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him... It is He Who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is Who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless... But He merely blows on them, and they wither... "To whom then will you liken Me, that I would be his equal?" says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see Who has created these stars, the One Who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God?" Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable... Isaiah 40:10-28 NASB®
As you saw in Isaiah chapter forty, God is the supreme ruler of all creation, yet He governs by love (Ephesians 2:4-7, 5:2). The conquering emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, in the early 1800s at the end of his life, stated that he and Alexander the Great founded huge empires by military brutality and force; but Jesus Christ founded His kingdom upon love.
The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17 NASB®
Our God is the sovereign ruler of the universe Who carries you lovingly in His arms (Isaiah 40:11). He rejoices over you. How do you feel about that?
Our free will and God's sovereignty
God is sovereign so why do we have free will? We could say, God in His sovereignty created us to have a free will, and He allows us to use it. God also gave us a free will so we can freely choose whether to love and obey Him or not. Sadly, Adam and Eve chose to use God's gift of free will to disobey Him. Do you?
What does God's sovereignty mean to us
Read Isaiah 40:10-28 again in your Bible if you have time. Describe God's sovereignty from this passage.
Our Sovereign God gives us a wonderful promise in Isaiah 40:29-31. Read Isaiah 40:29-31.
Trusting in God. Since God is in absolute control of all things, and always governs by love - we can trust Him.
You might be wondering what trust means? Faith and belief both mean being firmly convinced or completely sure about someone or something, which leads you to trust in that person or thing. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we trust Him to forgive our sins, giving us eternal life. From then on, we just don't wait around for heaven, we start living a life of trust in God. (Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 11:1, 6).
Trusting boils down to who or what you choose to rely on, depend upon, or have confidence in. Who do you normally rely on? Is it God, or someone or something else? It's a moment by moment decision. (Jeremiah 17:5-8)
I had a colon cancer scare after a colonoscopy. Fear started taking control of me. Since I trust (have confidence) that God loves me, I started asking Him to control my fearful thoughts, give me His supernatural peace, and to speak to me through His Word. Bible verses such as Romans 8:28 started coming into my mind, and I realized after a day I did have His peace about the possibility of having cancer.
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