By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #106 ~
Do you believe God is sovereign, that He does what He wants, when He wants, where He wants, how He wants, and that no one can thwart His plans? I pray you do. This is a critically important truth, for God is God, and He is in charge of all things. Nothing happens that God does not expressly command or permit. Not only does God know what is going to take place, but He orders it or allows it to take place. God is never surprised. There are no accidents. Nothing happens by chance. With perfect knowledge, power, love and wisdom, God directs and oversees everything, in accordance with His eternal purposes, and for His eternal glory. “He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’” Daniel 4:35
The sovereignty of God relates directly to your own life. He planned your birth and He caused it to happen. He knows the day you will die (or be raptured) and He will bring it about. “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). He planned when you would live and where you would live. “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and boundaries” (Acts 17:26). “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). God’s sovereignty is a strategic, comprehensive and powerful truth, one that will humble, comfort and encourage you, and bring great glory to God.
What about the world? Yes, God is sovereign over the entire world – every country, city, nation, person, relationship, animal, event and atom. “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?” (Lamentations 3:37-38). God is sovereign over rulers (Isaiah 40:23), over Israel (Psalm 33:10-12), over the church (Matthew 16:18), over your job (James 4:13-15), and over the devil (Job 1:6-12). God is always sovereign, “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure… truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.’” Isaiah 46:10-11
God’s sovereignty also has a direct bearing on Bible prophecy being fulfilled. Think of the prophecies about Christ’s first coming, and how they all were perfectly carried out: that Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), where He was born (Micah 5:2), that He rode on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), how Jesus died (Psalm 22), and so forth. The fact that all Bible prophecy comes true is one of the clearest and strongest proofs that God is sovereign.
What about Christ’s 2nd coming? Of course, God is sovereign, for He will do what He has decided to do. Every day, from now until Christ’s return, has been carefully planned out by God. We now live in the end-times, and God is directing all things and all people to that point when Christ will return and rapture the church. As the days and years go by, we will literally see His prophetic word being carried out. All of His plans related to Israel, the nations, the true church, false religion, birth pains, the Jewish temple, the Antichrist, the preaching of the gospel, great tribulation, Christ’s 2nd coming, and Satan’s defeat, will be fully carried out. Might you be assured and encouraged by the faithful, powerful, wise, and glorious working of God, resulting in Christ’s return as King.
You may wonder what will happen in your own life, and to your family and church. You may worry about whether you will live or die, whether you will be martyred or raptured. You need to trust God and be at peace, for God is sovereign, and “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” This “good” is that your salvation will be completed, that you will be glorified, that you will be “conformed to the image of His Son.” Romans 8:28-29
The fact that God is sovereign doesn’t mean you are to sit around and do nothing, that you are to just wait and see. You are to work and wait and see. You are responsible for your words and actions, all the time knowing that God is sovereign, that “man plans his way, but the Lord directs His steps” (Proverbs 16:9), that “the steps of man are ordained by the Lord” (Proverbs 20:24). “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). “Go, make disciples” (Matthew 28:19-20), knowing that Christ will build His church.
Finally, it’s all about Jesus Christ. Love Jesus, live for Jesus, and look forward to seeing Him come in the clouds. Remember, “we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory… with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of times, that is, the summing up all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.” Ephesians 1:9-12
P.S. If you have not looked at and read the Key Terms, listed on one of the tabs, I would encourage you to do so. Knowing the definitions of key prophecy terms, and related subjects, is essential in understanding prophecy. One area that is related to this subject of God’s sovereignty, that is found in the Key Terms, is the “Purposes of God.”