“I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.” (Psalm 71:6 NIV)
When I was reading through the book of Ezekiel in my Bible Recap readings, I kept noticing the phrase “Sovereign Lord.” When I looked it up in a concordance, I found that this phrase is used less than 19 times per book in the whole the Old Testament — except for the book of Ezekiel where it is used 210 times!!!! As I think through the themes of Ezekiel, it makes sense that, through the prophet, God wanted to emphasize his sovereignty over the Israelites in their downfall, exile, and captivity and over the other nations around them. No matter the circumstances, God was still “in control,” as we like to say today.
Then I looked up the word “sovereign” to better understand what it meant. Google’s definition, “possessing supreme or ultimate power,” led me to look up the Sovereignty of God and, of course, Wikipedia had an article on that.
“Sovereignty of God in Christianity can be defined primarily as the right of God to exercise his ruling power over his creation, and secondarily, but not necessarily, as the exercise of this right. The way God exercises his ruling power is subject to divergences notably related to the concept of God’s self-imposed limitations. The relationship between free will and the sovereignty of God has been relevant notably in the Calvinist-Arminian debate and in the philosophical theodicy.” *
I do not rely on Wikipedia articles for my theology, but this article reminded me of the many theological discussions through the ages related to the topic of God’s sovereignty. Is God in control of everything? Does God hold himself back in certain circumstances? Why does God allow evil? I’ll never attempt to solve these questions, but I will say that sometimes when we face these big, tough, complex theological challenges, our best bet may be just to allow God’s sovereignty to be a mystery we cannot well define. If theologians throughout the last 2000 years haven’t been able to solve these questions, I doubt I will. But when faced with the mysteries of God, at some point we may just have to say, “I don’t understand, God, but I will trust you anyway.” After all, if God is the Sovereign Lord, there is nothing beyond what he can handle or do or orchestrate. Praise be to our Sovereign Lord!
Sovereign Lord,
We will sing our Lord’s praise, for you have been good to us. We trust in your unfailing love and our hearts rejoice in your salvation. Thank you for revealing your sovereign nature to us through your Word and our experience. Thank you for helping us trust you when we face mysteries in life or circumstances that seem overwhelming. You are our hope, Sovereign Lord, our strong deliverer and shield. Your plans for prosperity, hope, and our future are perfect for us. May we trust you fully, knowing that you can never be shaken and that you remain firm forever. We ask this in Jesus’s name, with the expectation of Holy Spirit’s empowerment, AMEN.
“Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion, which can never be shaken. It remains firm forever.” (Psalm 125:1 GW)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV)
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)
“No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” (1 Corinthians 2:7 NIV)
“Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle.” (Psalm 140:7 NIV)
“For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.” (Psalm 71:5 NIV)
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10 NIV)
“I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.” (Psalm 13:5-6 NIV)
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty_of_God_in_Christianity 7/15/23