{"id":21280,"date":"2017-01-29T00:10:31","date_gmt":"2017-01-29T08:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=9995"},"modified":"2017-01-29T00:10:31","modified_gmt":"2017-01-29T08:10:31","slug":"january-29-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/01\/29\/january-29-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"January 29, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cDaniel answered and said: \u2018Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Daniel 2:20-22<\/span><\/p>\n

Cultivating Awe and Reverence for God, Day 29<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Sovereign<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

I read a true story once that shook me to my core. I wish I hadn\u2019t read it, because I questioned God throughout. \u201cHow COULD You allow this? Where is the good? Why has man been allowed to be so corrupt, so wicked, so evil?\u201d I wanted answers! I believed in a loving God who went to bat for everybody and caused all things to turn out comfy-cozy. I wanted the good guys to win and the bad guys to be sent to hell right now. I wanted swift justice. I wanted the oppressed to go free. I never wanted to see or hear about horrific, unimaginable suffering again. I wanted to punch the bad guys in the nose myself, if God wasn\u2019t going to step up. (Forgive me, Lord, for wanting to take vengeance that belongs only to You.) I was furious that man has been allowed to continue in sin for all this time. I worried about how victims will ever come to believe that God loves them and is a good God. I wanted all the \u201cvictory in Jesus\u201d Scriptures in the Bible to come to pass in my timing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, to be sure, they will come to pass, but it isn\u2019t going to be in my timing, because I am not sovereign. My will is not done on earth. If His kingdom is to come, then mine must go. I must accept that if He allows evil to continue, then it is because it is His will that none should perish, but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Perhaps they will\u2014God knows. Or maybe they are allowed to continue so all will know that God\u2019s judgment is just. \u201cWhen I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me\u2014until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 73:16-17).<\/span><\/p>\n

Of all the attributes of God that I am aware of, it is His sovereignty that unfailingly brings me to my knees. He is the One I cannot question, argue with, or fight against; if I do, I will be the one who has to bow. His Word is true forever, for everyone ever born, and even the unborn. That\u2019s because He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3), and whatever He says comes to pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

His plans stand firm. He does not consult any one of us before carrying out His will. He does not require our agreement or input. His purposes don\u2019t have to seem fair to us. We never know anyone\u2019s heart or mind or needs, or their yesterdays or tomorrows, and so we can\u2019t judge what He is doing in their lives; but there is nothing unknown to Him, nothing to discover or learn. All His decisions are just, good, right, and final.<\/span><\/p>\n

He made everything, and He has control over it all. He is greater than it all, and thus He reigns. \u201cFor Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 6:13b). Since He made it, we can\u2019t give Him anything He doesn\u2019t already own. \u201cNor is He worshiped with men\u2019s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things<\/em>\u201d (Acts 17:25). He decides if I live and when I die, and everything that comes in between.<\/span><\/p>\n

That terrible book forced me to come to terms with God\u2019s sovereignty. I had to learn that striving with my Maker is pointless. I had to admit and accept that sinning man has been given a free will. I don\u2019t know the reasons certain things are allowed to happen. (Forgive me, Lord, for wanting Your omniscience. I don\u2019t NEED to know.) There is One Who watches, Who oversees, Who keeps track\u2014not of the sins of the repentant, but of the unrepentant, stored up for the Day of Wrath. \u201cFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness\u2026\u201d<\/em> (Romans 1:18).<\/span><\/p>\n

There are thousands of examples of the exercise of His sovereignty in Scripture, as well as in our own lives. The moment we think we understand Him, we become as nothing. Our thoughts are a vapor. His ways are higher than ours, period.<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u201cNow to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

*1 Timothy 1:17<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDaniel answered and said: \u2018Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-women"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p92wjD-5xe","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}