THE APPROACHABLE SOVEREIGN

        

        The idea of the Sovereignty of God must be accepted for life to have meaning. Any option welcomed in place of this doom existence to oblivion. The vehicle for accepting the Planner God, the Creator God and Master of it All or Sovereign God is faith. There is no way around faith. About faith, Scripture says,

• "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

        However, now that we know what faith is, God's Word goes a few steps further in accepting His existence. The Bible speaks to the power of faith and the lack thereof through the writer of Hebrews and Paul. The writer of Hebrews says,

• "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

        Then Paul adds,

• "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

        For those skeptics, naysayers and those attempting to make excuses that there is no God, Blaise Pascal has a consideration for you. The French philosopher, theologian, mathematician and physicist put forth what is known as Pascal's Wager. Pascal argues that it is in one's best interest to believe in the existence of God, as it is a rational assumption and does no harm, and the possibility of eternal punishment in hell outweighs any advantage of believing otherwise. C.S. Lewis adds to this thought by saying, "Aim for heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in'; aim at earth and you will get neither." (The Joyful Christian)

        So, God exists but some, like Deists would suggest, God or a Divine Being created everything then sat back or walked away - a wind-up creation and let the chips fall where they may type of involvement.

        This is NOT the portrait of God in Christian Scripture. Over the physical creation, God is sovereign (Genesis 1-3). Over the spiritual realm, God is sovereign (1 Chronicles 21:15, 27; Matthew 13:41; Judges 9:22-24). Over humanity as nations and individuals, God is Sovereign (Acts 17:26-28; Deuteronomy 32-7-8). Over all the plethora of details that construct existence and meaning, God is Sovereign.

        The ultimate, intimate involvement was Father God sending His one and only Son to pay humanity's redemption price which was Christ's perfect life's blood upon the cross and victory over death, Hell and the grave three days later.

        Humanity might not agree or understand God's decisions, but Christians especially must trust in His sovereignty or be doomed to frustration. I keep learning God's response is totally on Him. Just because God has made a promise in His Word, the evoking of its fulfillment through my prayer may or may not be answered, even if I am praying His Word back to Him.

        Even as a believer, I question God. Do I have that right, not really. Do I have that privilege, absolutely, through the sacrifice and victory of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews affirms this by saying,

• "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

        However, just because believers in Christ have the privilege of an audience with The King at the whisper of a prayer, does not mean all responses are answered and/or delivered according to your specifications. The answer, including the timing is the will of The Sovereign Lord.

        Sometimes, the Christian can be aligned with The Lord in prayer about all they are seeking, but the timing is not surrendered. I know control for many people is a hard thing to give up, but the timing of instant gratification is sometimes harder to yield. If the believer does not relent in this area, he/she makes God out to be a genie meeting wishes instead of The Sovereign God fulfilling His purposes and plan over their lives.

        All this is not to discourage prayer. Persistent prayer continues our alignment with God's perspective on how our lives should run. He is the one with The Plan for our lives and will help to see it through. Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi and says -

• "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)

        This verse alone screams of a personal God, involved intimately on behalf of His believers to develop them into the man or woman of Christ they want to be and He wants them to be.

        There are probably many things that could go toward understanding God's Sovereignty. However, my research has found that our understanding of God's control must at least include - faith, trust, hope and testimony.

        The Christian faith in God says He does exist and provides a restored relationship back with Himself through Christ Jesus. How that faith is displayed helps continue the believer's development as a Christian, especially if a spiritually tuned ear is maintained. Paul admonishes the believers in Philippi to continue figuring out and working things out within their faith-walk with God -

• "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," (Philippians 2:12)

        Trust in God's Word says we rely on God's foreknowledge about everybody, that He has a plan for everything and will counsel His beloved.

        About His foreknowledge of everybody and everything, David says -

• "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:16)

        Concerning His plan for our lives, Jeremiah writes -

• "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." (Jeremiah 29:11)

        Then concerning His counsel of His beloved in this life, Solomon and John contribute.

• "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
• "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26)

        Believers base their hope and drive to live, now and future, on God's promises within His Scripture. Meanwhile, the testimony of others in The Faith is the fuel for the mind, body and spirit to endure and aide others needing help. 

        The criteria of - faith, trust, hope and testimony - are crucial in experiencing The Lord as the personal Sovereign God. While some may live their life as though there is no God or as though there is an impersonal God or unapproachable God, Christians believe in a highly intimate and accessible God who is All-Powerful, All-Knowing and Everywhere.

        Believers in Christ accept God as the ultimate planner. Listen to what Jesus says as He drops a hint at God's planning character -

• "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'" (Luke 14:28-30)

        According to Scripture, humanity never was, is or will be Sovereign. God is the I Am. He is before time, before all. The acceptance of the lie that we can be Sovereign through disobedience was the beginning of the The End for humanity.

        Therefore, the balance that is terribly lacking has progressively worsened since The Fall. The balance is not between good and evil, the balance is about restoring the proper perspective and position on God's Sovereignty in all matters.

        As stated at the outset, we are doomed to frustration if we do not surrender to God that which we do not understand, discern partially and even the concepts we seem to grasp. As mentioned earlier through the writer of Hebrews, through Christ Jesus - Father God's presence, ear and hand are always present, the matter is leaving and trusting the response with The Approachable Sovereign.