It’s Friday…God is Sovereign

Many, many lives have been devastated by the apocalyptic fires in southern California. The images of catastrophic destruction are indescribable. Our thoughts and prayers for those who have lost everything are desperately needed. 

We grow weak when the troubles of life threaten us. Difficult trials come, and we grow suspicious of God, wondering if His will for us might be too hard this time. We let fear invade us and paralyze us. All the while, we forget two unalterable facts that the Bible emphasizes again and again – God is Sovereign, and He is Good.

“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

There is nothing beyond God’s control. Old Testament stories of the Red Sea, Jericho, Goliath, captivities, fiery furnaces, lion’s dens, and the like should have convinced the disciples that even when perilous threats arise, God always uses them purposely to further establish His people. Jesus affirms the Sovereignty of God. He numbers the hairs on our heads and watches over sparrows. When this Jesus walks across life-threatening waters and says, “It is I,” fear should vanish. God Is Sovereign.

But God’s Sovereignty often means nothing to us unless we also know that He is good. An evil or dispassionate god could be sovereign, and we would not trust him. But the disciples should also have known from the Old Testament that the Sovereign God is kindly disposed toward His people. He shepherds them, shelters them, nourishes them, and delivers them. Jesus has also made this clear: The Father gives good things to His children and blesses them. When His Son walks across life-threatening-waters and says, “It is I,” it is not for further danger. It is for relief, God is good.

The winds, waves, and fires of this world are harsh. When we obsess about them, we grow suspicious of God’s power and goodwill. Our courage begins to fail us.  When those moments come and we have a hard time making it through the storms of life, that is when we need to clutch to these truths like a lifeline that will always pull us to safety. God’s Sovereign power supervises everything that comes into our lives, no matter how threatening it appears. And He is – in His unchanging nature – always very, very good.

Have a safe and secure weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who know when life gets unbearable, they are not alone. They recognize His voice in those moments when He says, “It is I,” and it changes everything.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)