The Sovereign Side of God

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts; I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. (vs 8b) Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one. Isaiah 44:6,8

Let’s talk about the sovereign side of God. Sometimes people hesitate to use that terminology, because the sovereignty of God is a subject that has caused great wars throughout the body of Christ.

But God is the sovereign Creator of the universe, the God of heaven and earth! He does have a sovereign side. He can work miracles within the boundaries of His Word any time and any place He wants to---even without our approval.

Look at the time Jesus was visiting Jerusalem during a feast time. (John 5:1-9) He walked to the pool of Bethesda where men and women were waiting for the waters to be stirred by the angel and be the first to get in the water to receive their miracle. A man had been carried to the pool every day as he had been sick for 38 years. This particular man did not go to Jesus. The man didn’t even beg Jesus to help him. Jesus went to him! Obviously our patient in this story wanted to be healed since he laid by the pool day after day hoping to win the lottery, if you will allow me to bring it into today’s analogy.

Jesus had to have stepped over dozens if not hundreds of sick people and went directly to this one particular man. Why? Jesus had declared that He didn’t do anything unless He saw the Father do it. So it was God’s sovereign will that this particular man receive his healing.

Just think about your own life. Have you ever received something from God that you didn’t expect? You probably have more times than you can count. Most of us wouldn’t have lived this long if God hadn’t sovereignly done some things for us. His love goes a long way.

Another example is Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to persecute more Christians. He was not seeking to find God but when “suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven.” (Acts 9:3) Jesus appeared to Saul that day on the road to Damascus, and Saul was born again.

You may not have been saved that way. You probably heard the Gospel preached, believed it in your heart and confessed Jesus as Lord of your life. You never saw a bright light from heaven and neither did I. But God has left Himself room to sovereignly intervene in a person’s life, as He did with Saul and the man at the pool of Bethesda. Why did God intervene in their lives? We may never know but God has specific reasons. The one thing I DO know is that God wants the best for us.

It is never His will that we suffer in sickness, be hooked up to machines in the hospital, or die a long lingering death. That is the work of the enemy of your soul. God’s will is to give you life and life abundantly according to John 10:10.

Confession: Sometimes my Father moves in miraculous or unusual ways to help people. But I don’t have to wait for that to happen. I come to Him in faith, believing His Word, and He takes pleasure in prospering me-spirit, soul and body!