Our Sovereign God
My thanks goes out to Jim Szakmeister who came out early this morning in spite of having family from out of town and help me pick up our new barbecue grill from Home Depot. I appreciate Jim’s friendship and willingness to squeeze me into his day.
This morning, I also met Pastor Steve Harris for coffee at the Timberline Cafe. I was surprised to find the west parking lot fairly full and some mid-week activity going on. The church has not just their activities but community groups and Fort Collins High School that utilize the facility as well.
During our extended coffee time (I brought the donuts) it was good to meet several people from Timberline that I did not know. It was also a delight to see Kevin Tyler walk in. Kevin is a long time friend and has served as a missionary for thirty years, twenty of those in the Ukraine. Kevin is now the COO of Global Teen Challenge.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Job answered the Lord and said:“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:1,2
The Book of Job contains the dialogue and discourses of Job and his three “comforters.” Some of the content can be difficult to understand. Like the Book of Ecclesiastes it is important to sort out what is just recorded in scripture and which statements reflect the truth about God and His ways?
We have a little insight when the Lord addresses Job’s friends and says, “…you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7) However, the statement above by Job reflects a core truth about God that Job learned through his sufferings and loss. In short it is the concept that “God is sovereign.” That basically means “God can do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, even if it doesn’t make sense to people.”
That doesn’t mean God is capricious and random in what He does and that he always keeps people off balance like some type of abusive parent. It does mean things happen we don’t understand. God doesn’t always act the way we think He should, when He should. This can cause questions, it also calls us to trust completely in God’s sovereignty.
Sarah Young in Jesus Calling touches on this concept in one of her devotionals. “Accept each day exactly as it come to you. By that I mean not only the circumstances of your day but also the condition of your body. Your assignment is to trust [God] absolutely, resting in [His] sovereignty and faithfulness.” (Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling. pg 263. 200 4 Thomas Nelson Publishers)
You can tell how I would relate to this challenge. Did God cause me to get West Nile Virus or just allow it, or???? What I know is that it happened. That in the process a tumor in my body was found that would not have been otherwise discovered. We have experienced God’s grace, love and provision through people in ways we never have imagined. We have learned to take each day at a time. We know God is with us! And when the challenging days come our goal is to “rest and rely” on God and His strength and yes sovereignty and not “give up.”