I had a conversation with a Christian the other day… In fact, I’ve had this conversation with him many times. He has told me that he does not want to live past 75, nor does he plan to. He’s 68 right now, so that only gives him 7 more years on his own timetable. I have told him many times that that’s not his decision, but God’s.
Now, I think I get where he’s coming from. His mom died of Alzheimer’s, and he knows that the older he gets, the chances of him getting it increase. Or the older he gets, the more chances that some other disease might riddle his body. None of us want that, right? I know I don’t. But this brought me to an important character of God… His sovereignty. Our key verse today speaks of His sovereignty. In fact, there are hundreds of other verses and passages about God’s sovereignty.
The word sovereign means unlimited power or authority. One book of the Bible where God’s sovereignty is on display throughout the book is Daniel. We notice that God is in control and He reigns over nations, kings, and people. God’s plan and purpose for our lives was put in place before we were born. Proverbs 19:21 says: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
So, how should we respond to the sovereignty of God? We should submit to it! We should align our lives with the plan of God. God is going to do what He wants anyway, so we might as well submit, right? But the world we live in today tells us that we are the ones in control. We can choose our destiny. I beg to differ 100%. God is the ONE who is in control of our destiny.
Not submitting to the sovereignty of God is unbiblical and dangerous for our future. First, it tells God that we think we have it figured out better than He does. Second, it sets us up for losing our faith if something happens that we hadn’t planned on. We can become severely depressed and lose heart. We can also lose sight of what Jesus wants to do. Not submitting to the sovereignty of God can seriously affect our relationship with Jesus and others. I hope that you understand how serious this topic is because many Christians are walking their own road, paying no attention to the One who sits on the throne reigning over humanity.