Give Thanks for God’s Sovereignty

In Revelation 11:17, the twenty-four elders in heaven worship God, falling on their faces and saying, “We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned”

They are giving thanks to God for His power, which is on display as He reigns over all creation. We call this the sovereignty of God.

Basically, the sovereignty of God means that God is in control of all things. Psalm 115:3 says, “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased,”

It may seem like the world is out of control at times, but God is ultimately in control. He may allow us to reap the consequences of our sins, He may bring judgement upon us when we rebel against Him, He may allow sickness, pain, or sorrow to build our faith and make us more like Christ, but He is nevertheless in charge of all that comes our way.

We can trust God, no matter what, because we know that He is sovereign. As the book of Job highlights, even Satan can do nothing without God allowing it. Everything Job went through was allowed by God for a specific purpose, and Satan could not do any more than God had said.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time with things that are out of my control— until I remember that God is in control over all things, and I simply need to trust Him and obey.

The book of Esther is a reminder of this truth, and the story of God’s providential working in the government of a pagan king seems to me a good illustration of Proverbs 21:1, which highlights God’s sovereignty over kings and governments: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will.”

God’s sovereignty not only means we can trust Him with things that are out of our control; it also means that we can trust Him to keep His promises. Romans 4:21 tells us that Abraham had faith in God, “Being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.”

Anything God has promised us in His Word, His sovereignty guarantees His ability to fulfil. We can trust Him, for He is trustworthy and good, and we can trust Him also because He is sovereign over His creation.

Give thanks to God for His sovereignty!