We serve an amazing God. He thought of every need we would ever have before we were created, to the finest detail. When the world and the environment was ready and prepared, then God created us!
Within His wisdom, God created physical and spiritual laws designed to help us navigate life. For example, “What goes up must come down” is a physical law known as the law of gravity. This was designed by God in the beginning and Newton gave it an explanation.
So it is with spiritual laws, the Bible is full of “laws” that God created in the beginning that were also designed for men and women of God, to live by. “You have what you say” is a spiritual law among many others found in the Bible.
In addition to giving us laws to keep us safe and a guide to live by, He gave us his authority.
God created this wonderful universe for us to live and abide in and have dominion over.
I believe religion has misappropriated God’s laws and his authority. It seems that God is getting blamed for a lot of things that is our fault. When we clearly disobey God’s law or turn away from him, and something bad happens –we blame God – as if God had planned all along to cause something bad to happen to us, perhaps to teach us a lesson. At least, this is how religion has tried to explain it.
If you choose to get in your car today and drive 100 miles an hour and pay no attention to the traffic warnings, stop lights, other vehicles, etc., there is a good chance you are going to crash. It’s the crash that humans try to attribute to God. They say things like, “Well we don’t understand but God had a plan” or “God is sovereign, this could not have happened if God did not want it to”.
Go back to the beginning, God put the world into motion and gave us a choice and authority; God will not violate our choices. I promise you; God does not wish for anyone to get into a vehicle and be reckless, yet He leaves choices to individuals. And yes, He can take a bad situation and make it new however, HE IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF PAIN AND SUFFERING.
I have been in many churches that “blame” God for the bad things that happen and say it is for a greater good. We say we serve a good God, then turn and blame Him for cancer, disease, sickness, heartaches, etc. This is schizophrenic.
I believe God is sovereign (supreme power and authority according to Webster). What many well-meaning Christians seem to not realize – God gave us His authority. We have the same authority that raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:18-20). Jesus received God’s authority because of His obedience, and He in turn distributes authority to all of us who follow Him in obedience as He says in Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.
As born-again believers, we can release the authority of Christ through our faith in the Word of God. We can release the power of God to accomplish the purposes for which it was given to us. It is our faith to express Jesus’ authority that initiates the release of God’s power to carry out His will and fulfill the task of His commission. Yet, God will also never violate our will if we choose not to exercise His power in our lives.
It’s God power in us!
I believe the teaching of the sovereignty of God is perhaps one of the worst teachings in the modern-day church. It has rendered believers as weak and passive. We sit on the sidelines and do nothing, when all along, we have had the ability to be world changers! To be overcomers!
The sovereignty of God has been completely misunderstood by followers of Christ. They have the belief that nothing happens unless God planned it, or it was His will.
Yes, to reiterate – God is sovereign – He has supreme power and authority and God is superior to all others. He has given us His authority to rule this earth. God, in a sense, turned over His keys to Adam and Eve in the beginning. God set the world up to now work through His creation. Why else would it take 2000 years for Jesus to appear on earth? God was now working through His prophets.
God tells the children of Israel, “you have limited the holy one” … Wait!! God is superior to all others and yet, He says that mere humans have limited Him?? It is because this is the way God designed the universe. God does not lie. He will not change. He basically works with the humans he has. However, when any of these mere humans realize their God-given power they have been bestowed, the world better watch out!
Follow God in obedience – take your God-given authority and make a difference today!
Psalm 78:41, “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”
It is not only the children of Israel that limited the Holy One, we too have limited the Holy one in our lives when we “play small” or when we choose passivity. We limit the Holy one when our attitude is, “well, if it’s God will, it will happen”. We have a Bible full of God’s will. The Word is alive. There are so many examples of God’s will throughout the Scriptures, yet we act if we haven’t a clue of God’s heart.
God does not control us like puppets on a string. God has created us for purpose and has given us His power and authority to help us live a supernatural life on this side of heaven! He has provided everything will ever need, yet he will not violate your free will.
Get to know his Scriptures – get to know the deposit that is in you! To do exceedingly, abundantly, more than you can ask or think ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT LIVES WITHIN YOU.” (Ephesians 3:20)
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
God’s power + an enlightened believer = Amazing things!!!!
We are vessels holding God’s amazing power.
Rhonda Smart, [email protected]
