The Sovereignty of God
By: Keith Evans, Jacob Dahl, Josh Martin, Chris Routen and Keith Wieser
More than ever, people are wondering how to find peace in the midst of uncertainty. If you are a follower of Christ, one of the best ways to find peace is to remember what God is like. We all have stories we tell ourselves about God. Some of them are true, but many of them are not.
A.W. Tozer said it this way, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” All of us have a picture of what God is like, and that picture shapes a storyline for our lives.
When Jesus came on the scene in Mark 1:15, he said, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Repent is another way to say “change the way you think about God”. He is good news and He is closer than you think. Jesus is saying, “The kingdom of God is near because I’m near. I’m the king. Change how you think about God, believe the good news”. This is the perfect time to let the Gospel change how you think about God and His kingdom.
When we are reconciled to God, everything is right even if it doesn’t feel right.
This week we need to remember that God is Sovereign. He is powerful, present, all-knowing, and trustworthy. God is good. Here are some more truths, breaking down what a sovereign God means for us in the face of anxiety.
1. God is powerful
While we are clothed in fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, insecurity, brokenness, and mortality, our God is robed in majesty, splendor, strength, eternal power and authority. Of his reign there will be no end and his kingdom shall never be moved. In Psalm 93, we see that no matter what opposition may arise, his throne is unmoved:
“Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!”
Psalm 93:4
To an Israelite, the raging sea was the most vivid emblem of uncontrollable chaos.The person writing this felt overwhelmed, about to drown in sorrow and stress. Maybe it feels like the floods are rising in your life right now. You might feel overwhelmed. But the divine King is strong enough for the task at hand. His might is unmatched.
No storm can stand against our God. God is never overwhelmed. The one who established the earth by the word of his mouth will surely be faithful from everlasting to everlasting. God’s presence is a stable and reliable place to dwell. We can cast ourselves into his presence knowing that he keeps our souls secure.
2. God is Present
Not only is God in control of the chaos, but he is also with you in the chaos. His presence gives us boldness to also be present and have eyes to see those around us.
When Paul went to Athens in Acts 17, he saw that the city was full of idols. God brought him to that place for a purpose. He had a plan in dropping him in the middle of a city full of people who did not believe the same as him or agree with him. Rather than shrink in fear, he loved them enough to speak out boldly.
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” Acts 17:26-27
There is a God out there who needs nothing from us. He is self-sufficient. He has measured out our days, and determined the places we will spend them. The truth is that even in seasons of anxiety, God has you where you are. God wants to use you where you are, right now, today. Rather than shrink back in fear, what if you looked around? Who has God sovereignly sent you to in this season?
3. God is All-Knowing
Although we don’t know the outcome, God does. The days are known. He goes before us, and this can give us confidence for our fear.
Knowing that God is all-knowing gives us comfort. There is so much comfort in somebody saying, “I know how this is going”. Where we feel out of control, we follow a God who is completely in control and wants to guide us through troubling new times.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28
Our all-knowing God not only knows all the workings of the world, but he also knows you. This all-knowing God wants intimacy. In Christ , we are fully known as God’s friend. When God is for you, His perfect knowledge is so relieving. He is our ally. For the person outside of Christ, the omniscience of God is a terrifying thing, to be fully known and fully guilty. For the Christian, the omniscience of God is to be fully known, and fully pardoned.
In light of understanding our sovereign God, the questions we have to ask ourselves are, “Will I let my view of my circumstances shape my view of God, or will my understanding of who God is shape my view of my circumstances?” “Will I let my circumstances determine what I think is true about God, or will I let what is true about God shape how I view my circumstances.”
