WHY MUST WE ALWAYS DO IT GOD’S WAY?
Rev. Mike Jones,
Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. (Psa 147:5) O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)
What a miserable Christmas! The husband was unemployed, the wife was expecting their first child at any moment, the family had to relocate many miles away from family and friends right at Christmas time, and the housing market was so tight until the only place available to stay was a sheep stall! (For info- the word “cow” or “stable” is not found in the New Testament). If these are the circumstances that God allowed for the birth of His only Son then it is easy to see how we sometimes wonder if God’s way is always the best way.
One of the most important aspects in walking with God is acknowledging His Sovereignty (Supremacy of authority or rule, complete independence and self-government). God could not be God unless He was completely Sovereign. Yet, He must use His Sovereignty in such a way until Mankind is allowed to have a Free Will.
Therein lies the difficulty. My “free will” looks at life and cannot imagine that it should turn out different from what I want but God comes along with a different plan and program and HE WILL NOT EVEN NEGOTIATE WITH ME! God simply declares, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
From the beginning God declared “it is my way or the highway” (Adam, if you eat that fruit I will put you out of the garden and make your life miserable). How can we accept such absolute authority without question or concern?
1) The Sovereignty of God must never be thought of apart from all else that God is- Holy, Wisdom, goodness, kindness, Love. God is not just an absolute POWER; He is a PERSON. The Sovereignty of God must be seen as the all controlling expression of His moral and ethical perfection.
2) Man has a Free Will but it must operate within the Sovereignty of God- Satan was free to rebel against God but he was not free to escape the consequences. And, since God is infinite, He plans for and controls the results of sin in His Sovereignty- the Example of Joseph: God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God:... (Gen 45:7-8)
3) God's Sovereignty is the overriding principle expressed in the Bible. That's because nations and people must learn to look for, and accept, God's sovereign will if they are to prosper- Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (Psa 127:1).
See God's Sovereignty in the lives of People: (1) Sovereign CALL of Abraham. (2) Sovereign CONCEPTION in the birth of Isaac. (3) Sovereign CONTROL in the life of Jacob. (4) Sovereign CARE in God's protection of Joseph.
You may not understand everything about God's Sovereignty but you can:
1) REST IN IT- Cling to a God who is in complete control and who is working ALL things together for the good for those who love Him and who are the called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (Jeremiah 29:11)
2)
WORK WITH IT-
Submit to God’s Ownership.
What? know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
- and Leadership
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of