Devotion 14 – Faith in God’s Sovereignty

If God is in control, then why is there so much suffering, so much pain, so much injustice and so much heartache in the world? These are questions many of us will continue to struggle with throughout our faith journey unless we settle the issue of God’s Sovereignty in our hearts.

Many believers have a huge dichotomy between our head and our heart. We may confess and profess with our mouth that God is love, God is good, God is in control, etc, etc, but in our heart of hearts, there is no real faith in the love and goodness of God. Subconsciously, we actually believe that though God is powerful and just, He is also hard and demanding, without compassion, distant, uncaring, even ruthless and vindictive. When trials and tribulations happen, we often question His integrity and feel that God only had His glory in mind, and human beings are merely pawns in His chessboard, made to accomplish His desire and purposes on this earth. Can we truly trust God wholeheartedly? Is God trustworthy?

In order to trust God, we must know him in an intimate and personal way. We need to know His character and nature. The Bible teaches us that God does all things for His glory and for the good of His people. He never pursues His glory at the expense of the good of His people, nor does He ever seek our good at the expense of His glory.

Scripture also affirms both divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Though we may not understand how they correspond to each other, we must accept both sides of this truth. As His rule is invincible, so it is incomprehensible. We can make plans, but those plans can succeed only when they are consistent with God’s purpose. No King and no governments can make anything happen unless the Lord decreed it.

Lam.3:37 – “Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it?”

God Governs Absolutely

1 Chro.29:12 – “You reign overall. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”

Psa.115:3 – “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”

The sovereignty of God is the exercise of His supremacy.  God is the high and lofty One; no one is greater than He or equal to Him.  That means God has the absolute right and the freedom to do whatsoever He pleases, whenever He pleases, however He pleases, without being answerable to anyone. Who are we to question the omniscient and omnipotent God? God knows all things and God can do anything. God must be trusted unquestioningly to remain in charge of everything, without interference or accusations from His creation. If He is not sovereign, He would not be God!

Dan. 4:35 – “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

Scripture does not answer all our questions. But we know from His Word that God is utterly sovereign, He is perfectly holy, and He is absolutely just. Admittedly, these truths are hard for the human mind to embrace, but Scripture is undeniable and indisputable!

Jn.19:10-11 – “Pilate said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you, and power to release you?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin”.

Pilate thought that he has sovereign control and Jesus was at his mercy. However, Jesus acknowledged God’s sovereign control over Pilate’s life.

John the Baptist’s disciples complained that Jesus was baptizing more people than him. His reply was: “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (Jn.3:27)

The mighty Roman soldiers cannot crucify Jesus unless God wills it. It is our sin that put Jesus on the cross, not the Pharisee, Sadducees or betrayal of Judas, etc.

Jn.10:18 - “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

God’s Sovereignty over Peter and James

God’s sovereignty is not easy to embrace or accept. We need absolute faith and trust in His nature and character. In Acts 12, James was killed while Peter was spared.

Peter’s wife can rejoice over God sovereignty over her husband, but what about James’ wife? She too must trust and rest in God’s sovereignty. Trusting in God does not mean that we cannot suffer grief, or our heart does not ache. It just means that amid all these, we honour God by trusting Him.

We need to settle in our heart of hearts that the all-seeing and all-knowing God knows what is the ultimate good for our lives and we can rest in the sovereignty of His goodness!

Prov.21:30 – “There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord.”

Prov.19:21- “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”

The sovereignty of God is an invincible truth our heart must cling to. The circumstances that surround our lives are no accident; they may be the work of evil, but evil is still subject to Him and evil cannot touch us unless He permits it (Job.1:12;2-6). God is the Lord of all human history and of the personal history of every member of His redeemed family.

Matt.10:29-31 – “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

If God controls the circumstances of the almost worthless sparrow, how much more will He control the circumstances that affect us. Though His love for us does not protect us from pain and sorrow, all our pain and sorrow are definitely under His watchful eyes.

Ps.121:3 – “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep”.

Ps.138:8 – “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me…”

God never sleeps nor slumbers and no detail of our life is too insignificant for our heavenly Father’s attention. No one can frustrate God’s purpose for our life, He will fulfil His purpose for us as we abide in Him and walk in obedience.

“When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head”

• C.H. Spurgeon