Today I want to have a brief conversation with you about the sovereignty of God. I know that sometimes we can find ourselves afraid and lost, but our Father knows all the pieces of the puzzle in each of our lives. Even though at times we may not find where each one of them fits together, we can have conviction in His sovereignty and be sure that God will direct us to put the final picture together in His time.
God’s Sovereignty and our choices
The Bible says that God is sovereign and also that we have the ability to make decisions. Our actions are important and bring real consequences. However, God already knows everything that will happen and promotes His plans. Our personal plans and decisions can never destroy God’s ultimate plan.
There is much debate about how it is possible for God to be sovereign and for us to have the ability to make choices. But we can say that God is sovereign because He grants the privilege to choose and defines what we can choose and the consequences of our actions.
It was God Himself who placed in our nature the ability to make plans and deliberate. And He rejoices when in our freedom we entrust our plans to Him and recognize His sovereignty over everything. See the verses below:
To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. – Proverbs 16:1
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. – Proverbs 16:3
We need to remember that God knows the whole picture of our existence while we have a limited perspective. So surely choosing to walk with the Lord and let ourselves be led by Him is the best choice.
If God is sovereign, why is there suffering?
God’s sovereignty, God’s omniscience is tremendous, He knows all things. He knows the beginning and the end. With that, many may wonder why our Lord allows suffering and tragedies.
As I said earlier, God Himself has placed in us the ability to decide and make plans. He created us in his image and likeness. He created us free beings.
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. – Genesis 1:26
Unfortunately, we don’t always make good choices, in line with God’s Perfect Will. Since Adam, humanity has suffered from its own mistakes and wrong choices. And this impacts a good part of the tragedies and suffering present in the world.
Job’s life
There are also innocent people who suffer, in the book of Job we have the example of a good man who suffered unjustly, even though he was faithful. This suffering was caused by the enemy, not by God. To prove that Job was really faithful, God allowed Satan to test him. God is sovereign but in His sovereignty He allows other agents to have the ability to choose, and as in Job’s story some permissions are for the honor and glory of the Lord.
In Job’s case, God limited Satan’s action. Then He changed the situation, for the good of His servant. We may not understand why God allows so much suffering in the world but we must have the confidence that He is in control and will restore all things, while at the same time giving us the privilege of making our own decisions. See the passages below:
Conclusion
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
Jeremiah 29:11
We will not always find answers to certain circumstances in our life. But at such times, we can trust in the sovereignty of our Lord, for He does not err
and is not caught by surprise. Use this principle to strengthen you day by day, to feel encouraged to fulfill God’s purposes, and above all, to trust and rest in Him.
God bless you!
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