The Sovereignty of God

God is sovereign. I have heard this numerous times over the course of my life. I have heard it from numerous people. But what does this really mean? 
The dictionary has many definitions including:
"a person who has sovereign power or authority"
"a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler"
"having supreme rank, power, or authority"
"greatest in degree; utmost or extreme"
"being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc."

I am not going to get all technical here. This is just what one dictionary says and I am no study in words, roots and definitions. This is just to see what the world defines sovereign as and to give a starting point. 

It is clear that the word sovereign is often associated with a ruler. Perfect! God is the ruler of the universe. It is also associated with importance. Again perfect as God is perfect. And so we begin to see a picture. God is the perfect supreme ruler of the universe. 

And then what? Here is where it begins to differ from a simple earthly explanation. This is what God has been teaching me. To say that God is sovereign means that He is in absolute control over everyone and everything in the entire universe. This has not been an easy thing for me to understand or swallow some days. Let's face it, we like to be in control. I know I do. I can feel myself begin to lose my temper when things do not go as planned or something interrupts what I want to do. But the more I learn about God, the more I learn that really I am not in control. Not at all. And the more I embrace the truth that I am not in control of everything, the more freedom I begin to experience. 

God never intended us to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. He does not want us worrying about what may come. He has given us Christ. He has given us instructions and things to do for His kingdom and His glory, but the results are in His hands and are done in His timing. How I long to rest in this truth consistently. God is teaching me step by step how to rest in this truth, how to say everyday "I will do what the Lord tells me and leave the results in His hands". 

So how about you? Are you resting in the sovereignty of our great God, Christian?