Being Thankful for God's Sovereignty
By George Stroh
February 27, 2012
The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
As Christians, we are certainly thankful for many things. First and foremost, of course, we are thankful for the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are very thankful for His amazing grace, His forgiveness of sins and His gospel of salvation and the eternal life we have been given in Him.
We are thankful for all the people who love us and all the good things that bring joy and pleasure to our lives. But what about those who hate you and the trials and tribulations that bring pain and sorrow your way? Do you understand that this is also God's will for you? Are you also thankful for those people and those things? Job's wife encouraged him to forsake his thankfulness and just "curse God and die!" But Job, who had lost everything yet kept his integrity, said; ...Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? (Job 2:9,10)
Are you thankful that God is sovereign and that He is in total control of your life? Do you appreciate that He is orchestrating every day and every detail of your life, even the hard days, the pain and the sorrows, all for your good? And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Believing in God's sovereignty does not mean that we just sit back passively waiting for God to direct our steps. Being a good steward of our time, our spiritual gifts, our material resources, our intellect, education, relationships and opportunities requires us to make plans and take action consistent with our understanding of God's sovereign will.
God's sovereignty should not cause us to be ambivalent and passive, but rather motivate us all the more to do good (godly) works; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
Keep walking in the good works He has created for you and be thankful for God's sovereignty because He is working everything together for your ultimate good. Maranatha!
