Kings had it. Princes were trained to get it. Others coveted it to the point that they would go to war to get a piece of it. Because of it, a king could make you or break you with a single word. Many of them lorded it over their subjects.
Today, generals, drill instructors, and the President of the United States have it. So do corporate executives, legislators with the keys to the purse strings, and your mom and dad … and if you are a mom or dad you have it.
Many of us know what it is like to have the power of making a final decision on something and can relate to the sign on Harry Truman’s desk “The buck stops here.”
So in one sense, we can understand how God has complete control over everything and everyone because in the small slice of our world, we have it. Yet on another level, we have no idea what it is like to have the sovereign power that he holds.
Unlike many of us who own the title to a piece of land, God owns all the land across the entire earth and all the animals too. (Psalm 50:10-12) We are just his stewards taking care of something that is ultimately his.
Not only does he own everything in this universe, he also controls everything as well. Now I don’t want to get bogged down right now in the age old argument of our free will and his control … I’ll save that for another post. The point that I would like to make is that God is powerful enough and sovereign enough to make a ruler’s heart turn any which way he wants. (Proverbs 21:1)
His control is supreme. Like trying to appeal a decision of the Supreme Court to a higher authority, it is impossible to appeal his decisions to a higher authority. He is the Most High. The buck stops with him.
This ought to give us great comfort and assurance. Since he is always perfect and pure regardless of the situation therefore his in incapable of making any mistakes ever, we can trust that his decisions and the things that he allows will work together for good … even if we don’t understand it in our present circumstances.
I had a season in my life about 15 years ago that I was utterly lost. I felt like I was in a ship sailing across the sea to a destination, but I didn’t know where it was. I was simply given a compass and told to head that way.
There were many mornings that I awoke not knowing what on earth I was doing or going or if God had a plan for me. There were many times that I wanted to appeal my situation to a higher authority than God, but what I realized is that I was trying to define who God is, rather than allowing him to define who he is.
Looking back at that sweet but dark time, I now realize that God was in control all along … and he was busy weaving together my future that I was unable to see … for my good and his glory.
