Divine Sovereignty: what exactly does that mean and how does it bring me comfort? Is it just an antiquated theological term or does it possess the power to meet my needs today? Let’s start by defining it- it’s Wednesday after all, and you can judge from there.
Sovereignty is defined as “supreme power: freedom from external control: controlling influence.” To be sovereign is to be; “superlative (surpassing all others) in quality: of the most exalted kind: supreme: of an unqualified nature: unmitigated (not lessened: being so definitely what is stated as to offer little chance of change…) : having undisputed ascendancy: possessed of supreme power: unlimited in extent…” (Websters). Synonyms of sovereign are; great, grand, greatest, highest, main, master. Sovereign is from the Latin “super” over, above (Websters). Divine is defined as, “of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God: supremely good.” Supreme is defined as, “highest in rank or authority” (Websters).
This is our God! The trouble is that we seem to live with functional amnesia regarding this particular attribute. In our attempt to relate more closely to God we make Him smaller than He is. We unintentionally cast Him in our image rather than the other way around. And when we do this, is it any wonder that our faith falters and we look at the waves crashing around us and begin to sink? (Matthew 14:22-33)
The world today is a roiling sea of fear and hate inducing voices that we can’t get away from. Fear-mongering has replaced actual news reporting and the effects have been devastating. I looked up the the word monger: a monger is “a broker or dealer: a person who attempts to stir up or spread something…” (Websters). Fear and hate are the drugs, media is the dealer, and it appears that we’re all addicts.
But there is a drug more powerful than these. There is an attribute of God that can restore our anxious, angry hearts to a place of peace. Meditating on God’s sovereignty will do this because it reminds us of how big, powerful, glorious, and great our God is. It reminds us that there is no one and no thing higher or greater than Him.
Psalm 121:3-5 says; “He will not let you stumble, the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.”
Because God is sovereign - all powerful, all knowing - nothing takes Him by surprise. He is never unaware of what’s going on in the world, from the tiniest day to day problems to a full scale global crisis. And, because He is God and He is loving and merciful, everything is working according to HIs plan, toward a good and glorious end, even and especially when we can’t see it.
Divine Sovereignty is a power we can take comfort in rather than fear because it is “supremely good” power from a supremely good God. God’s love for you and His best interest in your life’s events is “supremely good.” Think about that for a minute. You have never, on this earth, known a supremely good person. The sad truth is that all of us in our fallen state do even the most loving acts with some degree of self-interest, but God never does anything for selfish gain. Our immutable, loving, sovereign God is moving all of history towards a glorious and just end. Perfect restoration and unending peace are to come because of who He is, our unchanging, loving, and supremely powerful Father in Heaven.
I can’t wait to journal these verses with all of you this month! We’re going to dig deep and mediate on bigger chunks of scripture and I’m leaving it up to you to decide what verses to write out on many of them. God’s sovereignty has truly come to be one of my greatest comforts, I pray that by the end of this month it will be for you too.
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