We embarked on this treasure hunt over three months ago and have been scouring the fields of God’s Word for gems about God’s nature ever since. We’ve desired to know Him better so that we can love and trust Him more. And as we’ve uncovered each attribute of our Father, our faith in Him has grown – because what was once unknown has now been unearthed. What was once unseen has now been revealed to the eyes of our hearts.
It’s hard to say which aspect of God’s character is most important or foundational or encompassing because all of them make up all of Him. Perhaps, however, it is good and right to keep a few of the gems we’ve been stuffing into our backpack closer to the top – because they seem to lie at the core of our doubts and fears:
- God is love – “Our Father is completely saturated with love to the point of being Love” (Week Three).
- God is good – “Despite all we face and feel, God is good; He is with us through it all” (Week Four).
- God is faithful – God is “the Steady One when our world quakes beneath our feet. He is constant when nothing else is” (Week Eleven).
- God is holy – “The power of God’s holiness will purify us. The sacredness of it will set us apart. The utter goodness of it will soak into our hearts, minds, soul, and strength – and make us whole. And holy” (Week Twelve).
In my experience, if I can take-hold of these four truths in the moment when panic is rising or doubt is winning, I can find what I need to remain steady in my faith. In my trust. In my hope of God.
But before we wrap up this summer series, there’s one more truth about God that remains crucial to better knowing who God is. We’ve mentioned it in passing, but now it’s time to hone in on the fact that our God is Sovereign. With this golden nugget in our bag, we’ll always have the ability to ground ourselves in the truth that God “is absolute in authority and unrestricted in His supremacy.”1
Doubt
We’ve spent a lot of time searching for these God-truths in the context of seasons of suffering, darkness, and lost-ness. But we all have days and months that might be described as ‘normal’ – those seasons when we slip into autopilot and lose sight of the One who is meant to be directing our path. We can go a long time without really looking to our Father. We just roll along until we hit a bump – and realize that, though we never ‘left’ Him, we no longer hear His voice. And we wonder where He’s gone.
Then another voice taunts us – fear. How will you know which way to go? What if you miss what God has for you? Is God really in control? And doubt about His sovereignty takes root.
Dig
For years I lived the ‘spin cycle’:
I could almost calendar it, this cycle.
I would try life-hack checklists to keep me accountable. I’d buy a really nice journal to entice myself. I’d even try to get up earlier in the mornings. But nothing kept me consistently on the path with God. I resisted legalism but couldn’t seem to stay on track with what I knew should be a priority. I knew God wanted my heart, not my behaviors and striving, yet that self-same heart weighed heavy on so many days – as distracted as my brain and body.
Yet I persisted until I began finding some rhythms that worked. For example, I carved out time to do Bible study with other women; I went with my natural body rhythms and spent many evenings with my Bible instead of watching TV; I listened to a daily recording most mornings as I drove into work, allowing God’s Word to recalibrate my heart.
Year after year, I became more intentional about living with rhythms while letting go of all the ‘shoulds’. I allowed myself to be led by what my soul desired while resisting the urges to overachieve. I learned to rest in those stolen moments with the Lord.
And I finally broke the cycle.
I’m thinking that being in a cycle where three-quarters of the year I’m doing something with God is better than nothing. But the cycle frustrated me because those weeks and months of my spiral were unnecessary, difficult. And the fruit of such spin-outs looked more like fear than faith. More like doubt than trust. More like selfishness than love…
The ‘spin cycle’ trapped me in a never-ending loop because I’d do life in my own way, with my own strength. The more I spun, the more my panic would rise because I couldn’t ‘feel’ God. I’d fear that I had missed Him and would never find my way in this world without Him.
Dig Deeper
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time in God’s Word, and the incredible nature of Scripture is that it never gets old. There’s always some new treasure to be found. Very recently, I read Colossian 1:15-17 with brand new eyes – through the lens of God’s sovereignty:
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
Colossians 1:15-17 NLT
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
Psalm 24:1
the world, and all who live in it.
Discovery
Christians these days don’t typically say a whole lot about God’s sovereignty – I think it makes us uncomfortable. And, often, divisive. Some would say He’s like a divine puppet master, believing “there is no effect God does not cause; no outcome he [does] not predestine.”2 Others believe He’s more like a Divine Stage Director where “He has complete control over every aspect of the production (ref: Psalm 24:4), but he chooses to work with actors who have a mind and will of their own.”2
Scripture definitely tells us He has made everything – ev.er.y.thing – that He has all-power, all-wisdom, and can be in all places at one time. Stories like Job’s show us how all plots and plans must go through God first (1:6-22). He has the ultimate say. And Paul tells us that God “holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17). All to say, God is sovereign.
Yet He gives us free will – the ability to make our own choices and devise our own plans (Joshua 24:15; Proverbs 6:19). He hands us a script while giving us the freedom to improvise. He desires us to love and trust Him – but it’s ultimately each person’s choice. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be love. Or trust…
It’s a beautiful thing – to be given free will. And messy. It’s why God’s Story is packed with tales of person after person failing to choose wisely. Of God’s own people turning from Him to follow their own plans. Of nations colliding with one another because the perversion of such a gift causes people to envy and to covet…
As a parent I’ve, at times, tried to be the puppet master in my kids’ lives – only to run right into their very strong wills. And even though we had to navigate our ways through seasons of complete conflict – a true battle of the wills – I’m grateful to be learning the lesson that no one wants to be forced to do anything. Even if it’s for their good.
As a child of God, I’ve vacillated from longing for Him to tell me what to do to pushing back at Him when He does. In my late teens I pushed the hardest and went my own way. I didn’t trust God’s sovereignty, wasn’t sure He could be trusted or really had my best in mind. Like maybe He was holding back on me.
Yet He was the first one I ran to when life fell apart, and like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, He met me with open arms.
When I’ve failed, He’s been faithful to forgive. When I’ve jumped to the wrong conclusions about His desires or motives, He’s always received my repentant self. When I’ve picked up the reins of life and started driving the cart on my own (again), He’s been kind enough to take the reins when I hand them back – with nary an eyeroll.
And I do hand them back – because through all the years and cycles, I’ve discovered that everything the Bible says about God is true. He really is good and faithful to keep His word. He’s so full of love and patience and kindness. And He is always, always sovereign – His plans are perfect and His purposes can never be thwarted (Job 42:2).
His purposes can never be thwarted.
They cannot be stopped – maybe delayed or challenged, but never overcome (1 Thessalonians 2:18-20). Though people go off script, the script remains. The ending is uneditable.
There are tensions in God’s sovereignty:
- God reigns as king forever (Psalm 29:10). But He’s not pulling our strings!
- God is in control even though it’s impossible for us to understand His ways fully (Romans 11:33).
- God does whatever He wishes (Psalm 115:3). But from a heart that is good and right and holy.
- God makes everything work out according to his plan (Ephesians 1:11 NLT). But it’s by His righteous orchestrations rather than by forced labor.
- God uses every intention of evil for His good (Genesis 50:20).3
- God’s will prevails even though He gives us free wills (Galatians 5:13).
- God’s purposes will always persevere (Isaiah 46:9–10) – even when we mess up and think we’ve lost our way. Or Him.
So, let’s bring this full circle. When we go off script, mess up, lose sight of our Father in Heaven, He remains the One who stays by our side. He’s the One still at work behind the scenes. He will always be the One in control even when it feels like we’ve lost Him.
Beth Moore describes those seasons when it seems as though God has hidden from her and how she holds onto faith – “I have no utterly idea where God is, but He knows where I am.”4 Then she turns to us, “Suffering wanderer, feeling your way in the dark, God also knows the way you have taken. He has not lost you. And you have not lost Him.”4
No matter what we’ve done – whether big sins or no mistakes that we can see – God remains. He never changes nor loses control. He stays sovereign even when we can’t fathom where He’s leading us. So, when doubt about God grabs hold of our thoughts, we reach into our backpacks and start pulling out all the treasures we’ve found this summer. We dust off the diamond that reminds us God is good. We shine up the ruby that promises God is love. We hold up that glimmering gold nugget that proves God is sovereign.
With each jewel tucked into that bag, we recount God’s nature – all the truths about who He is – so that we’ll remember He is faithful. He’s in control.
He is our Sovereign God!
Father God, we believe that the earth is yours – and everything in it. In our minds, we know that You are in charge. We can picture You sitting on your throne in heaven. We can list so many of your attributes – wise, powerful, omniscient, and holy. But, we confess how often we fall short of living from these truths about You. When life falls apart, it’s easy to blame You. When famine breaks out with no relief in sight, it’s easy to doubt You. When we start living from our own strength, we lose sight of you. When we can’t hear your voice, we wonder where You are. And when we can’t find You, we get trapped by the fear that we’ve lost You or You’ve left us. Despair settles in as distrust clouds our minds. Father, forgive us for doubting your sovereignty. We know You are absolute in authority. We know You have it all under control – that everything must pass through You before they can happen. And we confess how hard that one is! It feels humanly impossible to accept that You allow evil for your good purposes. Yet, didn’t You demonstrate that when You allowed the death of your One and Only Son? And, it certainly was for your good purposes. We are so grateful that we can rest knowing that no plan of yours can ever be thwarted. Help us to know You better – so we can trust You more. Lord Jesus, thank You for holding all creation together – for holding us together, in You. We ask that You would continue to lead us even when we cannot see where You’re going – because we trust You. Holy Spirit, thank You for opening our hearts to know God more fully. We ask that You’d keep bringing to mind each truth we have learned about our Father every time fear or doubt try to pull us into distrust. Thank You for helping us hold onto our faith! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Psalm 24:1; 1 John 1:9; Job 1:6-22; Job 42:2; Colossians 1:17; John 20:29; 1 Corinthians 16:13)
*And, that’s a wrap! Another summer series under our belts. It’s my sincere hope that this biblical treasure hunt has proffered you some significant gems about God’s nature. God’s timing has certainly been perfect for me — on the daily I’m reaching into my backpack to pull out the truths I need to keep standing on my faith, believing that He is good. Sovereign. And oh-so faithful. How glad are we that these treasures are no longer hidden!?! XOXO
And, because I hope you’re wondering, we do begin our fall series next week — HIDDEN IDENTITY!
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – This GotQuestions article does a great job of unpacking how God’s sovereignty works – which is no easy thing to do because on one hand God has all the power and authority to do all things and on the other hand He gives humanity free will. It’s another of God’s both-and traits that can be complicated to understand.
The folks at GotQuestions.org use a great analogy to help us understand how God can be completely “powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities” yet still give us the will and room to make our own decisions.3 It’s the image of a man and an ant.
“If a man were to put an ant in a bowl, the “sovereignty” of the man over the ant is not in doubt. The ant may try to crawl out, and the man may not want this to happen. But the man is not forced to crush the ant, drown it, or pick it up. The man, for reasons of his own, may choose to let the ant crawl away, but the man is still in control. There is a difference between allowing the ant to leave the bowl and helplessly watching as it escapes. The cartoon version of God’s sovereignty implies that, if the man is not actively holding the ant inside the bowl, then he must be unable to keep it in there at all.”1
2 – JD Walt on The Wake Up Call, July 22, 2019.
3 – John Piper on Desiring God podcast (transcript)
4 – taken from Day 20 of Beth Moore’s Align: 31 Days of Prayer, Aligned with God’s Desires - Our Backpack of God’s Attributes is our virtual bag for collecting every characteristic of God we find in all our hunting. We’re loading up all we discover about Him. So far:
- God is Worthy — He deserves all glory and honor and praise.**
- God is Glorious — He displays His greatness and worth.**
- God is Transcendent — He is not like humans. He is infinitely higher in being and action.**
- God is Truthful — Whatever God speaks or does is truth and reality.**
- God is Incomprehensible — God is beyond our understanding. We can comprehend Him in part but not in whole.**
- God is Love — God feels and displays infinite, unconditional affection toward His children. His love for them does not depend on their worth, response, or merit.**
- God is Gracious — The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love (Psalm 145:8).
- God is Good — God is what is best and gives us what is best. He is incapable of doing harm.**
- God is Comforter — the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
- God is Deliverer — God rescues and saves His children.**
- God is Redeemer — Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine (Isaiah 43:1-2).
- God is Omnipotent — God holds all the power. Nothing is too hard for God.**
- God is Almighty — What God wills, He can accomplish.** “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).
- God is Infinite — God has no limits in His person or His power.**
- God is Just — God is fair in all His actions and judgments. He cannot over-punish or under-punish.**
- God is Righteous — God is always good and right.**
- God is Wrathful — God hates all unrighteousness.**
- God is Merciful — God does not give His children the punishment they deserve.**
- God is Patient/Long-Suffering — God is untiring and bears with His children.**
- God is Provider — God meets the needs of His children.**
- God is Omnipresent — God is fully present everywhere.**
- God is Compassionate — God cares for His children and Acts on their behalf.**
- God is Wise — God knows what is best and acts accordingly. He cannot choose wrongly.**
- God is Omniscient — God knows everything: past, present, and future; all potential and real outcomes; all things micro and macro.**
- God is Generous — God gives what is best and beyond what is deserved.**
- God is Immutable/Unchanging — God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.**
- God is Trustworthy — “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:4
- God is our Refuge — God is a place of safety and protection for His children.**
- God is Faithful — God always keeps His promises.**
- God is Eternal — God is not limited by and exists outside of time.**
- God is Holy — God is perfect, pure, and without sin.**
- God is Way Maker — as coined by Osinachi Okoro, stage name Sinach, in her song, “Way Maker,” which has been recorded by artists such as Passion, Leeland, and Michael W. Smith. God, in His holiness, always makes a way (Isaiah 43:16-19).
- God is Sovereign — “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
- **many thanks to Jen Wilkin and her list, “Attributes of God,” present at the back of every study
- I was a little surprised that I couldn’t find a song on our “Hidden Treasures” playlist specifically about God’s sovereignty. So, I went and found one this week and added it. It’s third from the end — “Sovereign Over Us” by Shane & Shane. You’re welcome 😉
- I cannot believe that we’re already nearing the end of August — which means it’s not long before the next issue of our newsletter, The Abiding Life comes out. I always try to get it to you during the first week of each month — so here’s hoping it all comes together in the middle of this big move of ours. You can subscribe here if you’d like to hear more about this season and the next series!
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.
- Praise, our summer rhythm, is the speaking of truths about WHO GOD IS. It lifts our eyes off our circumstances and back onto the One who can walk us through them. And the Psalms are packed with poems that will lead us through this ritual of reflection and remembrance — until it becomes a rhythm that we fall into naturally.
- God. Is. Sovereign. That’s not a phrase you’ll actually find in Scripture — at least not one that I could find! However, there are PLENTY of passages that help us see that God is, indeed, Sovereign. Here’s a great little article that outlines a few of those passages.
- For our final week, let’s read Psalm 93. Isn’t it interesting how so many of the attributes we’ve been digging into this summer are part of God’s sovereign nature — powerful, all-knowing, holy, good, faithful, wise, just. Perhaps that’s just more proof in the puddin’ that God isn’t just one of these characteristics or that we can slice His nature into slices like a pie — rather He is all of them all the time. And because of that, He is sovereign. Thanks be to God!
- And while it’s not a spiritual practice or rhythm, I invite you to share this site. Summer is a great time to ask someone else to join us here — it is a shared journey of faith, for sure!
Featured Photo by Carlos N. Cuatzo Meza on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Zrng N Gharib on Unsplash.
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