“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
His Kingdom is from generation to generation. All
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can
restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You
done?”
Daniel 4:34-35

As global uncertainty escalates with all its complex challenges we have to have a firm grasp of the Biblical teaching on the sovereignty of God. If we don’t we shall find our lives filled with anxiety and fear. Jesus said that days would come upon the earth that would cause men’s hearts to tremble and fear. (Luke 21:26) We can understand this today as we hear daily of the consequences of global warming, the possibility of war and conflict, including the nuclear type, the dangers of global financial meltdown, and famine that fuels inflation across the world.

The sovereignty of God assures us that God is in control, that His purpose is on track and that His Word is true and reliable. At the center of the challenges facing us today is the nation of Israel. This tiny nation holds the prime spot in today’s media and thus hardly a day goes by without some issue facing Israel and the region being discussed. This is God’s way of getting the world’s attention. Something is happening in the Middle East that is bigger than man and his plans and formulas to cope with. There seems to be no end to the struggles, typified by the so called “Arab Spring”, that face this region. One can easily despair if it were not for the fact that the Bible clearly “paints” these days with clarity.

This means that Israel’s modern day restoration is not a coincidence and is thus a “God event” validated by scripture everywhere. (Amos 9:11-15; Obadiah 17-18; Jeremiah 31:35-37) Sometimes this process appears to contradict our natural thinking and expectations since, in general, it does not enjoy the approval of the world and its perceptions of what should be done. Sadly, to complicate things more, much of the wider Church does not understand the purpose of God in Israel’s restoration. Herein lies the mystery of the sovereignty of God. His ways are not our ways and we have to trust Him fully as this purpose of His unfolds before our eyes.

Essentially this means being faithful to His Word and blessing what He is blessing. We are people of faith, like Abraham, and we therefore walk by faith believing that all that God has said will be realized.  He followed God even though he did not know where he was going! (Hebrews 11:8) Abraham also believed God even though what He was proposing was impossible because Abraham and Sarah were way beyond the child-bearing age. (Romans 4:19-20) We shall likewise inherit the promises of God as regards to ourselves and Israel if we do not waver in faith and are patient. (Hebrews 6:12) Actually without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and therefore it is essential that we know what faith is.

Faith is:
•    Believing what you cannot see, smell or touch or even understand. (Hebrews 11:1)
•    Believing the Word of God even if it appears to contradict your rational thinking. (Hebrews 11:6)
•    Believing that God will answer you when you diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
•    Believing that God welcomes you into His presence because of the spilt blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

So, real saving faith brings the very life of God by His Spirit into our lives and this gives us a living knowledge of peace with God. (Romans 5:1) It is entirely supernatural and cannot be faked! Blessed are those who live by faith! Faith can also grow and get stronger and this is done by giving glory to God or by describing His greatness. (Psalm 68:34) This is what worship is all about. The word was originally “worthship” for it is an act that describes who God is. Abraham knew this too and by giving glory to God his faith grew because his understanding of God’s greatness grew! (Romans 4:20) He needed a vision of God’s sovereignty to live out God’s call over his life. So do you!

So, as the world enters times which are becoming more perilous (2Timothy 3:1-5) and therefore more uncertain, we can have great peace, and even great joy, because our God is in control. He will complete His good work in Israel and in our lives (Philippians 1:6) and in the end the nations will be humbled and brought into submission to His will. (Zechariah 14:16) On a holy hill in Jerusalem He will install His Messiah King and all nations will call Him Lord and bow the knee to Him. (Psalm 2:1-12) This is our destiny and it is as sure as the rising of the sun. We can thus rejoice before our God and His Son Jesus and we can rest in the knowledge that He most definitely has everything under control!

Malcolm Hedding.

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©Malcolm Hedding Ministries