God's Sovereignty

QUESTION: How should God's Sovereignty impact how much I trust Him?

ANSWER:

When I study God's sovereignty, it brings to mind some questions – Is God really in control of my life and circumstances? What is the extent of His control? Can I trust Him?

Sovereignty is defined as "God's control over His creation, dealing with His governance over it: Sovereignty is God's rule over all reality."

Does His control over "all reality" encompass my life too? Does that mean that nothing is random or comes by chance? Does God purpose everything? Isaiah 14:24 says, "The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand.’”

God is unlimited in power and is not thwarted by anything outside Himself. He is in complete control of our circumstances and that should lessen our fears and give us confidence in our future. That sovereignty is overshadowed by God's compassion, His goodness, love, mercy, compassion, faithfulness, and holiness.

J.I. Packer wrote, "Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty, acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours."¹

God's Sovereignty – Getting to Know Him
It is impossible to trust someone we don't know! That's why an understanding of God's sovereignty requires that we get to know God.

His Word says He is worthy of our trust

"God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19).

He has proven Himself trustworthy

"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses" (1 Kings 8:56).

We have no other sensible options

Our only other options are trusting in ourselves or others—all sinful, fallible beings. We are unpredictable and unreliable. We make horrible mistakes and unwise choices.

It is important to remember the importance of getting to know our God. It is hard to trust someone you don't know.

God has not made Himself difficult to find or know. All we need to know about God, He has graciously made available to us in the Bible. To know God is to trust Him.

Footnote:
¹ Packer, J.I. Knowing God.

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