Plead, Submit and Rest assured

God is sovereign. We find so many in the bible addressing the Lord GOD as Sovereign LORD. Dictionary defines sovereign as ‘supreme ruler’ or ‘a person with supreme power or authority’. Our Lord is the only true sovereign in this world. Paul writes about God to Timothy in I Timothy 6:16 calling Him “the blessed and only Ruler, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. The dictionary also has another set of meanings for Sovereign -- ‘preeminent’, ‘indisputable’, ‘self-governing’ and ‘independent’. God alone qualifies by these criteria. He says in Exodus 33:19, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” He is absolutely free to act as he will. He is not bound by any rules. Very often we do not realize this when we address God as ‘Sovereign’ in our prayers; 'sovereign' has just become a meaningless adjective in front of his name. If he is sovereign, we cannot demand from Him as we demand from our peers. If he is indeed sovereign, we cannot command Him as we command our servants. The only way we can approach this most High God to act on our behalf is to plead for his grace. The next time we go down on our knees or look up in prayer, shall we PLEAD for his mercy.

God is absolutely sovereign. Since he is indisputable, we cannot question his fairness or wisdom in how he deals with us. Paul asks the Romans, “Who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”(Rom 9:20) Earthly sovereigns may be arbitrarily unjust, but our Sovereign Lord in his arbitrary mercy has decided "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people ; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one." (Rom 9:25) Knowing that he is not just all-powerful but also all-knowing and loving, we need to submit to whatever is his plan for us. Paul continues, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” (Rom 9:21) In this fallen world, there will be poverty and prosperity, health and sickness, literacy and ignorance, honor and rejection, all side by side. Whatever is the situation that we are in, we are not to question Him but remind ourselves, that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). In the limited light that we have, we will not see the greater good that awaits us. Today’s ‘seed faith’ theology may say that we are to visualize what the solution to our problem will be, in all its details and pray for that solution. I would think that any solution which we can think of cannot be the best, given our limited knowledge. After we have pleaded for a solution to our problem, it is in our interest to leave the actual solution to His infinite wisdom. We will do well to SUBMIT to his will.

Finally, God is not just sovereign over us; he is sovereign over all circumstances. We are safe in His hands. Too often people are afraid not just for this life, but even if their salvation and eternal destiny is safe. Paul asserts in his letter to the Romans, “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:35, 37-39) What is his confidence? We find it in verse 34 -- Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God. Christ Jesus is on the Throne and He reigns supreme. He reiterates in 2 Timothy 1:12, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” We can certainly REST ASSURED in his SOVEREIGN Love.

If at some point in life, we have truly committed our life to God and have accepted his gift of Salvation, we can rest assured that he will keep us safe from falling. Even when we falter on the way, fall to temptations and drift away from him, His gentle love continues to tug us back towards him. When we stray away, we get to face the consequences, lose precious years and miss several blessings he had planned for us, but He does not let the devil steal us. He will chastise us and do all it takes to bring us back to him. Dr. Ravi Zacharias recounts the fascinating experience of one of his translators of yesteryears, Hien Pham. A young teen in the early seventies, he had been his interpreter in Vietnam when he ministered to the American troops. From those early promising days, so much went wrong in his life but God was faithful to bring him back to Himself. What a great assuring Rest we have in Him.

"When Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned and indoctrinated, and had decided to abandon his Christian faith. Then he came across a page from Romans 8 that had been used as toilet paper while cleaning the prison latrines. After finding the Scripture, Hien asked the commander if he could clean the latrines regularly, because he discovered that some official was using a Bible as toilet paper. Each day Hien picked up a portion of Scripture, cleaned it off, and added it to his collection of nightly reading.The day came when, through an equally providential set of circumstances, Hien was released from prison. He promptly began to make plans to leave the country and to construct a boat for the escape of him and fifty-three others. All was going according to plan until days before their departure. Four Vietcong knocked on Hien's door and said they had heard of his escape. He denied it and they left. Hien felt relieved, but at the same time disappointed with himself. He made a promise to God—fervently hoping that God would not take him up on it—that if the Vietcong returned, he would tell them the truth. He was thoroughly shaken when only a few hours before they were to set sail, the four men returned. When questioned again, Hien confessed the truth. To Hien's astonishment, the men leaned forward and in hushed tones, asked if they could go with him!In an utterly incredible escape plan, all fifty-eight of them found themselves on the high seas, suddenly engulfed by a violent storm. Today, he lives to say that if it were not for the sailing ability of those four Vietcong, they would not have made it. They arrived safely in Thailand, and years later Hien arrived on American soil where today he is a businessman." What providence we find in His sovereignty!

Jesus is our greatest example. When faced with the prospect of losing his Father’s presence and his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow, he pleaded, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” Having pleaded, he submitted to his Father’s will and prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He was then prepared to face what he feared and rested assured in his Father’s divine providence. Let us follow our saviour's footsteps.