God’s sovereignty means that God has the power to do all he wishes, when he wishes, with whom he wishes and in the way he wishes. He not only has the power but all that happens in this world, he has willed it to be so. Think about it in a moment. Is God really in control of everything?
The last lines of William Ernest’s poem Invictus are “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul” This poem is very known and loved by motivational speakers who teach that man to be in control of everything. Man is portrayed to be the determiner of his future, by what he does, says, and thinks. So who is in control of all that there is? Is it God or man or the devil? Who is able to do as he pleases?
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Job 42:2
The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all creation. Nothing in the universe happens against His will. Nothing comes as a shock or a surprise. God does not have a plan B. He already knows what is to happen. Every atom is exactly where God wants it to be.
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it. Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?
Isaiah 45:7–9
Imagine a God whose will can be resisted, his plans thwarted and his purposes frustrated. Will that God be really powerful? The God of the Bible is not such a god. God of the Universe absolutely sovereign over all affairs of men, over the decisions even the minute details. The natural events, human activities, and even those things that hurt us deeply, God knows it all.
My point is, you cannot continue casting the blame on man or the devil for what is happening. You will soon just get back to God and ask the question, “why did he allow it?” The truth is, it happened because God wanted it to happen. Though men and the devil may be the ones who did it, still God allowed them to do so in His Sovereign will. God’s sovereignty supersedes any other power.
Having said that, it is very clear that man is a free agent and has a will. But it must not be confused to mean has a sovereign will. A man’s will can go as far as to that point God’s sovereign will has purposed. This is a very great encouragement to the believers to rest in God even in difficult circumstances because after all, his eternal purposes are going to stand and, all things are working for good for that who love Him.
Now someone may ask, if God is sovereign, why pray and put the effort into everything we do if after all, his purposes nevertheless will stand? I would answer this person with another question. Where would you get the courage to pray if God was not sovereign? Would you be confident in suffering and persevere if God was not sovereign? What if His plans had just been thwarted? So you see, the sovereignty of God is not an excuse to escape the responsibility but encouraging truth to stand with God’s word no matter the cost. The sovereignty of God is not like the sovereignty of a tyrant who only does harm to his subjects but it is of a good Lord to His people.
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?
Lamentations 3:37–39
The Sovereign God is calling all people to turn away from sin and repent and trust in the finished work of His son, Jesus Christ. Have you believed and put your trust in Christ Jesus? Have turned t the left and wandered from the throne of grace? Turn back and repent. Go to Christ again and He will receive you. Shalom.