Pastor's corner - Resting in God’s Sovereignty

Philip Melancthon, the great Reformation theologian, once said to his friend Martin Luther, “This day you and I will discuss the governance of the universe.” Martin Luther replied in an unexpected way, “This day you and I will go fishing and leave the governance of the universe to God.” Martin Luther had an incredible grasp of the sovereignty of God!

King David in Psalm 103:1-18 praised God for His blessings and compassion as a loving and forgiving father for his children. In vs 19-33 David calls for praise but begins with God’s Sovereignty that gives him freedom to worship and help others (vs 15-16). Vs 19 “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all.” God rules sovereignly over creation and that makes Him greater than anything around us.

I have heard some refer to God as a “policeman, grand old man, parent, the Man upstairs”, but He is far more than that. Biblically, God is Sovereign and rules over all things and has the final word in all matters. Our Lord has graciously given us freewill to make decisions and be responsible for our thoughts, speech, and actions and to bear the consequences of our good or bad decisions.

Sovereignty by one definition means that God exercises His supremacy, infinite rule, authority and power, without the input or interference of created beings or creation.

This means that God is involved in your personal life (Psalm 48:1, 95:3, 6) so it is not healthy to try and override His sovereign will for your life. If we believe this then we can have confidence and rest in His plan even when we do not understand what is happening to us (Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 1:11-12). His plan always involves goodness for us even when there is suffering!

One Biblical example of this is found in 2 Kings 5 where a powerful man in Aram, Naaman, was afflicted with leprosy. In this account we note that the leprosy became a tool that God used to lead Naaman to God’s plan and ministry for his life. A Jewish girl in Naaman’s home knew the Lord and his prophet, Elisha. She told Naaman about Elisha and he went to Israel and visited Elisha’s home.

Elisha sent out a messenger who told Naaman to go to the muddy Jordan River and wash himself seven times and then he would be healed. Naaman was angry that Elisha did not come out to heal him. The issue here was to accept God’s sovereign method of healing whether or not it made sense. Naaman obeyed and was healed physically and saved spiritually

Proverbs 16:1-4 “The plans of the heart belong to man. But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. (2) All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weights the motives. (3) Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established (4) The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.”

There is nothing wrong with making plans but we must stop and recognize that God may sovereignly override them. Note in Proverbs 16:1, “but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord”, which means that God has the last word as He may adjust our plans to His glory.

In Proverbs 16:2 our motives are important to the Lord, “ways are clean in his own eyes”, which means we can be misled by our selfish ideas and desires of the flesh. If we pray and submit to the Holy Spirit then He will lead us in the path of righteousness. God’s plan is revealed to us if we will be patient, have a strong desire to glorify the Lord in our lives, put aside selfish motives, search the scriptures, turn the decision over to the Lord’s sovereignty and only then will your plans be established by the Lord. In other words, if the Lord tells you to go to the Jordan River then you better start looking for a towel!

Chaplain Ron McMurray,

Whitman County Sheriff