THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
God is sovereign and that is a very encouraging thought. He is all-powerful and in total control. Some go way too far in emphasizing this attribute of God to the exclusion of other things the Bible teaches just as clearly (looking at you, Calvinists). But the fact remains, our God is an awesome God. And he is Almighty and in control.
That does not mean that we can understand everything. That does not mean that we are not responsible for our choices. That does not mean that God is the author of evil or sin. It just simply means that in some mysterious way that we will never understand on this side of eternity, God is the ruler over everything in the world. Our job is not to understand the sovereignty of God. Our job is to trust in the God who is sovereign.
He is God Almighty, the Lord and ruler of the universe. If he can control the universe, he can certainly control anything that comes into our lives. What could possibly come against us that God cannot handle?
This is why Paul asked, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). There is no enemy that can defeat God. Therefore, since God is with us, and we are in a relationship with God, there is no enemy that can defeat us, either.
God created us, and he cares for us. God created man from the dust of the ground and created woman from the man’s side. We read about that in Genesis chapter 2. The God who can speak the universe into existence and create humans from nothing is a God who can be trusted to control all things.
But that is not really what our problem is. Deep down, we know that God is all-powerful. We know he has to be in control. We know there has to be a God, and that in order for him to be God, he must be sovereign. He must be all-powerful. Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Jeremiah 32:27). No. And we know this.
The problem comes from questions we have about God’s nature. Let’s just be frank. Let us admit that this is where the struggle is. We know he is there. We know he is all-powerful. What we struggle with is trusting him. And this has been going on since the Garden of Eden.
How did Satan get Adam and Eve to rebel against a loving God, who had created them and taken care of them? He did so by deceiving Eve into thinking that God is not good. That God is not who he claims to be. And that is how he trips people up today.
The devil does not want you to realize the goodness of God. But when you do—when you choose to believe that our God is good, and that Satan is a liar, your life will never be the same. Even though you will have to keep coming back to his promises and his goodness, because the devil will keep trying to get you to stop thinking about it. To stop believing in his goodness. But you can always decide to do so, anyway.
The devil is not powerful enough to make you do anything. Don’t fall for his lies. You can believe in the goodness of God. You can decide to trust in God no matter what. That is a decision that you have the power to make—and to keep making.
Dewayne Dunaway
