"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man" (Ps. 118:8).
One of the first responses people have to God’s sovereignty is rebellion. This is because fallen man exalts himself instead of exalting God. Mankind, therefore, refuses to give God the honor and respect He is due. The second response is fear. We fear God’s rule because we don’t trust God and because He is holy. Whenever a weaker person faces someone in power, they have at least some fear. Will that person in authority abuse his power or use it for good? As sinners, we immediately think the worst of God instead of the best. We don’t want Him to be sovereign because we do not trust Him.
Charles Hodge observed, “Although God’s sovereignty is universal and absolute, it is the sovereignty of wisdom, holiness, and love. The authority of God is limited by nothing out of Himself, but it is controlled, in all its manifestations, by His infinite perfections. If a man is free and exalted, in proportion as he is governed by enlightened reason and a pure conscience, so is he supremely blessed who cheerfully submits to be governed by the infinite reason and holiness of God. This sovereignty of God is the ground of peace and confidence to all His people. They rejoice that the Lord God omnipotent reigns; that neither necessity, nor chance, nor the folly of man, nor the malice of Satan controls the sequence of events and all their issues. Infinite wisdom, love, and power, belong to Him, our great God and Savior, into whose hands all power in heaven and earth has been committed.”
Another crook in the lot for sinful people regarding God’s sovereignty is His holiness. If God is holy and sovereign, and they are unholy and subject to His sovereignty, then they are in a dangerous position. But Christians, who are covered by the righteousness of Christ, have nothing to fear from God’s sovereign rule. He has forgiven them of their sins. We do not need to fear His judgment, and we can trust that He is working all things out for our good.
Would we rather have our lives controlled by our own fallible, finite, unwise, and twisted desires, or by the all-seeing, all-knowing, loving, and wise God who created all things for His glory? When you think of God’s sovereignty, and if you are a Christian, have no fear, but trust in Him who abounds in love (Ps. 108).
Read Psalms 25:8; 33:5; 34:8; 119:8. What do these verses say about God? Why can you trust His sovereign rule over your life? Think specifically about ways you do not trust God. Be honest with yourself and God. Confess to God ways in which, either in thought or action, you have not trusted His sovereign rule this week.
