Worship Devotional CXXXIX
The Sovereignty Of God
Worship Devotional from 10/2/22
1 John 4:10 & 19:
“Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… We love because He first loved us.”
John 10:27-30, Jesus speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem:
“‘My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish — ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’”
We have victory, but not from ourselves. We have hope, but not which depends on our strength or abilities. We have a testimony, not because of anything we did to change our own lives, but solely because of Him who alone has the power to affect real change — lasting change toward good and glory. We do not boast in ourselves, nor do we trust our own hearts, nor do we accept the credit for the good things we speak of. Everything we have been given — every good thing in our lives, the hope and light and life and love that we hold onto, the assurance that we have that we will be victorious in the end, the knowledge of the One who is the Source and our Provider of all these things and more — has all happened because of the initiative of God’s grace. The only response to such grace and mercy which the Creator of all things has poured out on us is humility with thanksgiving and awe.
For all of us were lost and helpless, condemned by our own sinful rebellion against the One who alone is holy and true. We went our own way and turned our backs on the God who created us, who gave us life and goodness and purpose, and who crowned us with glory and honor having fashioned us in His own image. We dared to disbelieve Him and to act against His word, and so we suffer the consequences. We could never atone for our own rebellion, for we were defiled to the core by the wickedness and lawlessness that results from the deception of evil.
Yet the God who created us — who alone therefore holds the authority and right to judge and determine our fate — loved us still. He would’ve been righteous and just to wipe us out, but instead He made a way to wipe out our sin and still save our souls. He chose to suffer for us, to send His own Son, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, to die in our place and to shed His blood for the atonement of our transgressions. He suffered our sicknesses, He bore our burdens, and He took our pain upon Himself. We did not deserve anything, and yet by the blood of Jesus, we are completely forgiven. Total redemption has been freely offered to the guilty and undeserving, because the price for our sins has been paid in full by the suffering and death of Christ. God planned this long before we existed, knowing that we would go astray. Before He formed the first star, He had a plan for our salvation, so that we could exist to be loved by the One who reigns in glory forever and ever.
“For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved.” - Ephesians 1:4-6
God has already proven His power and sovereignty from the beginning, for He created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. He spoke all things into existence and made us in His own image, commanding us to rule the earth and to tend to the rest of the creation (Genesis 1). He breathed His breath of life into us and into all the living creatures that He made. What does the Potter have to prove to the clay? What does the Painter have to prove to the canvas? The very fact that we exist testifies as irrefutable evidence to the glory of the living and eternal God. And yet, we rebelled against Him. God did not have to prove Himself to ungrateful sinners like we once were, yet in such a display of love and glory that words cannot even express, He reached out in mercy and according to the unfathomable riches of His love to save us from the pit of destruction we were headed for. He never compromised or contradicted His own eternal nature, but in both love and justice, He made a way for sinners to receive eternal life and to come into His holy presence as a redeemed people for His glory and delight. This is who we are. The only response is joy and praise with humility and gratitude, for it is the Lord who has saved us and given us life.
There are many common misconceptions about the sovereignty of God. To know the truth, we must listen to what He has revealed to us in His word and tune our hearts to the voice of His Spirit who lives in us. We must surrender our limited understanding and ways of thinking to the supreme authority of Scripture and let the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth (John 16:13). The sovereignty of God is a truth that is powerful and astounding, but it is so great that it is beyond our full comprehension in this life. David in Psalm 139:1-6 said:
“Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”
We may not be able to fully comprehend the reality of God’s sovereignty, but we can know and trust in what He has revealed to us in His word. In so doing, we find great comfort in difficult times, for God is sovereign over all circumstances, and He will give us what we need to endure. We can trust that He is working in all things in accordance with His glory and goodness, even when we can’t make sense of what is happening to us or around us. Job demonstrated this faith in God’s sovereignty in the midst of the most devastating of circumstances in Job 1:20-21 upon receiving the news of the deaths of his children along with the loss of his possessions:
“Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh.”
In believing the truth of God’s sovereign power and authority, we also find great assurance, even when we falter and fail in our walk with the Lord through this life. We know from 2 Timothy 2:11:
“This saying is trustworthy: For if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
We also have great assurance that He will provide us with everything we need to live for His glory according to His will, for it is written in 2 Peter 1:3-4:
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.”
And Philippians 2:13 encourages us:
“For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.”
If we are to worship God in spirit and truth, for who He truly is, and give Him the praise He is truly worthy of, then we must contemplate and wrestle with the truth of His sovereignty. We cannot take credit for any part of our salvation. Not only were we completely lost and condemned in our sin, but we were spiritually dead inside. Dead things do not bring themselves to life. Only the Creator, the Source of all life, has the power to bring the inanimate to life. All the glory and honor of our salvation belongs to the Lord. We were made in His image, but He alone is God, and we are not. We are merely mortals, who though we had gone astray, have now been saved by the grace of God and redeemed into new life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything that has been done for us, God did. Our part in this story is to offer Him the praise and glory and honor and thanksgiving that He is worthy of, so that He might be known throughout the whole earth, and that all who hear and believe in His name will be saved unto life eternal. This, we know, is the will and work of our sovereign, holy, and merciful God, the One and only true and living God, the Creator and Judge of all. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 115:1-3:
“Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases.”
Psalm 139:13-16 & 23-24:
“For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began… Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”
Proverbs 16:4:
“The Lord has prepared everything for His purpose — even the wicked for the day of disaster.”
Proverbs 19:21:
“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”
1 Timothy 6:13-16:
“In the presence of God, who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will bring this about in His own time. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, the only One who has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; no one has seen or can see Him, to Him be honor and eternal might. Amen.”
Themes: God’s Sovereignty, Love, Initiative, Authority, Testimony, Grace
Songs:
Scripture references:
Genesis 50:20
1 Chronicles 29:10-13
2 Chronicles 20:1-30
Job
Psalms 103, 115, 139, 145
Proverbs 16:4 & 9 & 33, 19:21, 21:1
Isaiah 40-53
Lamentations 3:31-41
Daniel 4
Matthew 6, 10:26-31
John 6:35-40 & 44, 10 (esp. vv. 24-30), 15:16
Romans 8-11
Ephesians 1-2
Philippians 1:6, 2:13
1 Timothy 6:13-16
2 Timothy 2:11-13 & 19-26
Hebrews 4:12-13
James 4:13-15
2 Peter 1
1 John 4:7-19
Revelation 4:11, 13:9-10