Dictionary.com defines sovereign as:
1. A monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.
2. A person who has supreme power or authority.
As Christians, we are taught that God is a sovereign God. By the meaning outlined above that tells us he has supreme power – supreme authority. Supreme meaning ULTIMATE. Sovereignty is a concept that many people do not truly grasp or dare I say, believe in with confidence. God’s word tells us he is all powerful, he is all knowing. He is the author and finisher. He is the creator. He is the beginning and the end. He holds our world in his very hand. HE – is – sovereign.
Recently, I ran across the following profound statement, ‘While God is orchestrating the events surrounding what you will do, He is making you who you must become.’ Incredible to ponder. Re-read that quote and let those words sink in…In the valley you are living in, there is purpose. In the obstacle that lies in your way, there is a reason. In the confusion that has plagued your mind, there is revelation.
Isaiah 64:8 tells us
But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.
He is making us who we must become…
Consider for a moment, the story of Job. Job was a faithful man. Seeing his faith, the devil asked God’s permission to try to dissuade him from his trust in God. The devil asked God to remove his protection from Job. God in all his power and knowing grants the devil’s request to the extent that he cannot take Job’s life. He attacks him viciously, and Job experiences a tremendous amount of pain and grief, yet we find at the end of his story that his faith is intact and God blesses him more at the end of his life than the beginning. Job held on to his faith and emerged from his trial stronger.
An incredible story, that can be studied over and over and can teach us many things about our God. The peice of the story that I want to draw our attention to now is the fact that the devil had to ask for God’s permission before doing anything to Job. Before trials could even come to Job, they first had to pass through God…and he put a limit to it all. He would not allow the devil to put Job through more than he could physically handle…and he does the same for us.
Genesis 50:20 states,
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good….
We all experience things in our life that are hard, uncomfortable, or seem impossible, yet God never allows more to come to us than we can handle, and scripture promises that what the enemy intends to harm us with, God intends to make good of it…he is making us who we must become. The key to overcoming these trials and becoming what he has intended – it is found in trusting our Savior.
God has given us free will, free will to either choose him and ask his help in overcoming our situations, or to go our own path, and handle the situation on our own. I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in knowing my God is sovereign, that he knows what is going to come to me even before it comes. I take confidence in the fact that he is the potter, I am the clay, and he is making me who I must become…I ask you to join me today, take your trial in your hands and give it to the One who has supreme authority. You see, he sees that mountain that stands before you, and he sees what is on the other side…whatever it is that he sees on the other side, he calls it good. If it is good to him – then it is good to us. Do yourself a favor today look at that mountain and make up in your mind to … Choose Him…