"God’s Sovereignty”

“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:6-8 ESV)

In chapter 9, Paul clearly shows us God’s sovereignty and that we, as new covenant believers, should be very aware that God’s plan, God’s way in God’s time, is always best. Everyone at some time struggles with God’s sovereignty! I can hear some of you saying, “Well, I never…!” And to that, I’d say, “Yes, you have.”

We see things in the world, in our own community, in our own families and in our own personal lives that we don’t understand, and we start to question God. We question God’s resolution to a problem, His timing (usually He takes way too long for our liking) to resolve something that we have been praying about, and that He doesn’t take our advice on how He should “fix this problem”; after all, who knows our children, friends, and spouse better than we do?

I know you have questioned God because you are human, just like me. It has taken me many years to learn (and I’m still learning and re-learning this truth) that God’s solutions and timing are there because He knows best, not me. Now from time to time, I still shake my head in amazement that God didn’t listen to me and my “suggestion” on how He could, or even should, fix this problem. But let’s look at what Paul teaches us in Chapter 9 and see if you will agree with me that God’s solutions and timings are always best. I pray all of us continue to grow in our understanding of our mighty, gracious, forgiving, merciful, generous, loving God and His marvelous grace.

I really appreciate Paul’s declaration of his love for the Jewish people in verses 1-5, where he states that if possible, he would “wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites,…”. Even though Paul called himself the Apostle to the Gentiles (11:13), his heart was always breaking for the Jews who refused to accept his Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus.

Even though we may not have the same zeal as the Apostle Paul for a particular people group, the Holy Spirit does put different groups and individuals on our hearts. Don’t ignore this prompting of the Holy Spirit; don’t just think that it’s some emotion or feeling that comes, and if I give it enough time, it will go away. I know we’ve all done that. But the same Holy Spirit that prompted and pressed Paul to reach out to the Jews also prompts and presses us to reach out to others that He puts in our path on a daily basis. These people need to know about God’s saving grace, just as the people in the 1st Century did. Listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit will change your life.

If we believe in God’s Sovereignty, then we need to take these promptings very seriously. You see, God is giving all of us the privilege to participate in His plans. Who knows if God had been preparing this person’s heart for this very moment? It’s God’s plan, God’s way in God’s time. Listen to the Holy Spirit as He talks to you throughout your walk with our Lord.

Then, to prove his point about God’s sovereignty in verses 6-20, Paul shows multiple examples of God showing mercy to whom He wishes.

We’ve all heard messages from verses 21-22 “Or does not the potter have a right over the clay…”, emphasizing God’s sovereignty over all He has created. Paul then quotes from Old Testament Prophets, such as Hosea and Isaiah (around 700 BC), to show that God’s sovereignty is not a new teaching but that God has always been in control. As the creator of everything and the sustainer of all life, God has the authority and power to exercise His sovereignty over all, and we, as children of God (9:8), need to remember that our God loves us and only wants what is best for us (8:28).

Sometimes we, as new covenant believers, think that being saved by faith was a new idea with God, when He sent His Son to take away the sins of the world, by grace through faith. But even with a casual read of the book of Romans, you will see that salvation by God’s grace through individual faith has always been God’s plan. In verses 30-33, Paul once again explains why the Jews who pursued a law of righteousness did not find salvation. He states in verse 32, "Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works….”; as Paul stated in 5:1, everyone is “justified by faith,” not works.

Believer, we need to accept and live as we believe in God’s sovereignty, His right to orchestrate the ongoings of our world and our lives as He sees fit, because we have faith in Him to do the right thing. He doesn’t need our approval or our advice on how best to be God. We won’t understand everything that God does, His timing, or even the results of His plans. But we don’t have to; all that He has ever asked of us is to have faith in Him and to know that He keeps His promises. We can have complete confidence that He loves us and watches over us.

God’s sovereignty is not in question! Only our willingness to acknowledge that God’s plan, God’s way in God’s time, is always best. You will be amazed at the peace that surpasses all understanding that will be yours once you start living and accepting God’s sovereignty.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"