The Blessings of God’s Sovereignty
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
God’s sovereignty. A mysterious doctrine at times, but one with great relevance for our lives. Not just something for scholars and theologians to argue over.
First of all, the sovereignty of God relieves me from anxiety. It doesn’t take away my questions. It takes away my anxiety. When I rest in it, I am relieved of the worry.
Second, the sovereignty of God frees me from explanation. I don’t have to have all the answers. I find ease in saying to certain individuals at critical times, “You know, I don’t know. I can’t unravel His full plan in this.”
The problem with learning a little theology is that we start thinking we can unscrew the inscrutable. Believing we can fathom the unfathomable. That there’s no depth that we cannot plumb. Well, let’s face it . . . that’s not true.
There are times when those who know the most simply must back off with hands behind their back and say, “It’s beyond me. I don’t know why God closes some doors and opens others. I don’t know why some reject Him and become vessels of wrath. I don’t know how that fits in. I don’t know how evil can be used for good. And I don’t know how the interplay between the two in some way glorifies God. But I know, ultimately, it does and it will, because God will be all in all. I don’t have to explain it.”
Third, the sovereignty of God keeps me from pride. Once I got hold of that thought, it began to revisit me on a regular basis throughout the balance of my education and then on into ministry. I have returned to it again and again and again. And it’s helped me face some of the most difficult times of my life. It’s kept me on my face before God.
Sometimes we struggle. Sometimes the handwriting is difficult to read or hard to accept. But I pray that the Lord will minister in a very special way to you who are struggling, who are coming to terms with His right to rule over you. And I pray that the name of the almighty, sovereign God will be lifted up and that all the glory will be His . . . despite the mystery of it all.
Taken from The Mystery of God’s Will by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1999 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com
