He’s either completely sovereign or He’s not
The purpose of this post is not to try to satisfyingly resolve this sticky and problematic issue (since people have been trying to do that for a lot of years) but rather to address the fact that the Bible does teach that He is indeed completely sovereign and how this wonderful truth can, and should, affect how I live my life, make my decisions and emotionally respond to what’s going on around me
I’d like us to begin thinking more deeply about this rather than throwing up our hands in frustration, sticking to our present position or assuming it’s above our pay grade, and move on and not give it any further thought.
Let me put it this way:
He’s either completely sovereign or He’s not! I either completely trust Him or I don’t!
As I read my Bible, I see His sovereign hand over history from Genesis to Revelation. He speaks, he encourages, He leads, He Persuades, He rewards, He chastises. He’s involved in all the details of our lives. He works everything together for good for those who are His (Romans 8:28). He uses what we do, how we live and what we decide to accomplish his grand purpose and plan.
Here are three passages of scriptures which I’ve memorized that help me, and encourage me, with the fact that he is sovereign and I can trust Him:
“But he is singular and sovereign. Who can argue with him? He does what he wants, when he wants to. He’ll complete in detail what he’s decided about me and whatever else he determines to do.” ~ Job 23:13, 14-The Message
“…God who is the blessed controller of all things… ~ I Timothy 6:15-The Phillips Translation
“He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.” ~ Daniel 2:21-New Living Translation
There are lots of other passages, but these three are favorites. To say that He is sovereign is not to say that I have no will or cannot make choices in my life. What I believe it is saying is that He controls the ultimate outcomes regardless of what we may do or not do. In His sovereign will, He uses everything to accomplish His purpose and bring to fruition what He desires.
Years ago, I read a book by J.I. Packer titled: “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God” This really got me thinking (and I haven’t stopped thinking since) about how the fact that He is sovereign and me exercising my free can work in tandem.
He’s either completely sovereign or He’s not. We can’t have it both ways. If He’s completely sovereign (which I believe He is) then I have a choice I need to make. I will either completely trust Him or I won’t. As stated above in 1 Timothy 6:15, He is the BLESSED controller, not just the controller. He’s in loving control of what’s going on in our lives and in the world, which is not always easy to see, understand or completely grasp, but nonetheless true!
I totally get it that believing in His complete sovereignty and at the same time believing in my free will can be difficult and problematic to wrap our heads and hearts around. Embracing the somewhat mysterious dynamic between these two truths has incredible impact on how we live our lives, how we make decisions and the degree of peace we experience given the craziness all around us.
Here are a few practical thoughts about how His Sovereign hand affects how I view things and how I feel about things going on in my life and in the world:
If I don’t truly believe and trust that He is sovereign and in control, then I will be Inclined to take control of things myself and not look to Him. Some like to quote the verse in the Bible (which is not in the Bible) “God helps those who help themselves”—not true. God is there to help those cannot help themselves, those who realize they are unable to do it on their own. There was a well-known preacher years ago who often said, “if it’s going to be it’s up to me”—not true either.
Many people today long for personal peace given the chaos going on in their lives and in the world. When I can lean into the fact of his complete sovereignty (World events are under his control) I personally experience a deep peace that no amount of human striving, or the best drug/prescriptions can promise.
“It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” ~ Phil 4:7 The Message
I once worked with a leader who told us that it was a wonderful day the day he resigned as master of the universe. There is one “Master of the Universe” and it isn’t me or you.
Oh, to trust You more and more. I believe, help my unbelief!
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