A Closer Walk
Do we have a sovereign God? The short answer is yes, absolutely. And He will always remain so. But sometimes we may remove the Lord God from the Throne of our individual lives and choose to sit there ourselves. When we do this we usually wind up doing something we later regret. We may be in too big a hurry to be willing to wait on the Lord. We might push aside the knowledge we have of our God so we can, “get it before someone else does.” Again we usually end up regretting our course of action.
The Old Testament book of Judges sums up this approach. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25 NASB. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. None of this love thy neighbor stuff. The only thing important is me, myself, and I; and whatever I desire that day. But we know from our own personal experiences as children of the Living God that approach to life and that mindset doesn't work. For anyone.
A much better approach. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,” Romans 12:10-11 NASB. We serve the Lord by serving others. When we serve others we are serving the Lord. As people we need each other. That has been demonstrated to us over and over during 2020. Lockdowns, quarantines, businesses closed. While it's true that there is no place like home, we still need each other. It is encouraging to us to speak to a stranger in the grocery store; or have them speak to us. It is uplifting to run into friends or people we know from church. And we encourage and uplift others during these encounters as well.
So our God is sovereign. Always. That means He is in control. Always. Even when there are times that seem like He has left His throne in Heaven empty. Gospel singer Babbie Mason wrote a song that expresses this called, “If You Can't See His Hand, Trust His Heart.” “God is too wise to be mistaken God is too good to be unkind So when you don't understand When you don't see His plan When you can't trace His hand Trust His heart,” chorus from “If You Can't See His Hand, Trust His Heart.” Written by Babbie Y. Mason and Eddie Carswell.
Our God is sovereign even if we are unable to see His hand. It's at those times we would do well to remember who our God is and what He has done for us. When we don't understand; when we don't see His plan; when we can't trace His hand; then we should trust His heart.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever,” Psalm 23:1-6 KJV.