A Sovereign God For The Toughest Christmas…
Ever felt overwhelmed by the reality of your insufficiency? That daunting realization that you are not in control of what you wish you could be. It’s not an evil or vile kind of control you seek. But the kind that would let you guard your friends and family from things like pain, cancer, or doubt. The kind of control that would allow you to see the long-term effects and circumstances that could come from that one decision, that is knocking on your door, demanding your attention and wisdom. Perhaps the toughest part of this thing we call Christianity is not fighting the desire for a diabolical control of our universe, but the letting go, and the leaning in, to the work it takes to trust in a God who has asked us to hand all control over to Him.
The handing over of control to Jesus is one of the deepest mysteries and toughest disciplines of the human heart to master and exercise. We were born with a soul that knows very well that there is something, someone, much bigger than ourselves. And yet, we are also born prone to wonder, doubt, and run from the God we were made to delight and delight in. The contract of salvation is a choice to trust God with that which we cannot and will not be able to control. Our health. The spiritual state of loved ones. Death and dying, is all things we will experientially learn to hand over to the supremacy of a good and powerful God. God’s goodness and power is often theologically referred to as Sovereignty.
God is the only deity and being that upholds the promise of Sovereignty. In our world, we’ve been given fictional characters and historical figures who exemplified controlled power for the good of others. And yet, all of them, were just slightly held back or bogged down by an uncontrolled weakness… Superman had his kryptonite. Batman was exposed without his suit. Churchill had anger issues, and Gandhi was just plain toxic. What makes life so hopeful and worth it even with all of it’s ups and downs, obstacles and disappointments is that the super hero we claim and who claimed us as His own is clothed with perfection, grace and all of the responsibility we no longer have to carry.
There is a perfect place a support, an unbreakable safe haven, and a pure friend for those who Trust in God. Who follow Jesus with desperation. Who pursue His likeness like living water and rich wine. When we’ve given ourselves in and over to the Sovereignty of God, our lives transform from a balancing act of pain and chaos vs pleasure and stability into an all about Jesus mentality. Those who trust in God are all about God. And those who are all about God do not suffer any less, but they do suffer well. They do cry intentionally. They do mourn with hope. They do rise up with purpose even on the bloodiest of battlegrounds. Because they have traded the burden and responsibility of control for the joys and accolades of a rich relationship with a perfect God.
You see, the heart of the gospel is a transfer of control. The cross and crucifixion of Jesus was an invitation let go of what was not working. To do away with the legalism that laws provoked. To move on from status religiosity. And to give into a God who desired to pick up right where we left off with Him. In control and recklessly advocating for us on our behalf for the rest of time.
Okay, so that’s what sovereignty is. That’s who God claims to be. So, what does this really mean for us in the here and now, surrounded by all of our appointments, anxieties, dreams and harsh realities. It means our faith does not have to grow old or uninteresting when we are worshipping a sovereign God. The cool breeze of the gospel can still seep into the mundane responsibilities. It can make strides in old relationships that are yet to be reconciled. It can make its mark on the fragrance we give off to a hurting world. It can rattle the cage of the enemy’s plans to distract or prohibit us from seeing our neighbors, friends or family members who may feel hard to love, the way God sees them.
When we are willing to live a life that has given over the rights and authorities to Jesus, things begin to shift. The priorities of our hearts change. What used to frustrate us, doesn’t frustrate us as much anymore. The substances and habits that used to control us don’t carry the same weight they used to. Sin begins to feel less indulging, and the good works of God suddenly but surely become more invigorating, interesting and worthy of our attention and investment. The great exchange of control from us to God is the introduction to a life of freedom. When we relinquish our needs and common wants to Jesus, we taste the victory that the Scriptures testified to. We experience the passing from death to life. We find out home in the Spirit of God.
This truth has the opportunity to inspire the newest of believers AND regenerate the most seasoned of Christians. God’s grace and sovereign work in our lives always remains applicable. Always alters our circumstances. Always, changes everything. This means that God’s sovereignty is one of His most intimate attributes. Because He is a good God who chose to leverage His sovereignty to the good of those HE made. Those HE died for. And those he was born for in the poverty of a simple stable in Bethlehem. The story of Christmas, to the story of the cross, to the story of right here, right now is God intercepting our instability with his immeasurable sovereignty. It is Christ’s Sovereignty we are designed and called to anchor ourselves to when the waves are crashing, when the circumstances are building, when the bad gets worse and the difficult task becomes the impossible. The mountains not only remind us of the brokenness and obstacles in front of us, but they exemplify the trophies of God’s grace and the adventure of journeying with Him.
Paul described the journey this way in Galatians. “I have been crucified WITH Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. This life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith, in the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself up for me.” A journey with Jesus and an immersion into His sovereignty is a decision to join the attitudes and attributes of Jesus. We join Him in the story He invited us to be grated into. We dop our nets of insecurity, depression, doubt and anger and we pick up the cross of freedom, sacrifice and purity. Recognizing our lives are no longer our own but are won and done, secured and ensured by Jesus.
The reason God is endlessly in pursuit of our surrender is because He is obsessed with us. He finds us amazing, beautiful, lovely and in His likeness. And as it should be, for we are His image bearers. We reflect His characteristics and personality. The gospel means God does not see us for who the broken people that we are, but as the sonship of His throne in Heaven. We are favored and highly adorned by Him. Giving into the Sovereignty of a God like that should feel easier and more affirming by the day, season and circumstance. As we draw closer, and dig deeper and run faster into all that He has for us.
So, if Christmas this year offers to you a few too many reminders of your brokenness or insufficiency, Let HIS sovereignty overwhelm your daily mindset. That it might dictate for you kinder discussions with those who are hard to love. That it might present to you a broader perspective of the world and it’s chaos. That it might move your spirit and heart to a place this Christmas that is has never been before. The helplessness you feel within all that you cannot control can build for you a lovers platform for you and God.
Ponder and explore this season what it could look like to rest in the Sovereignty of Jesus.
