Who's The Boss?

         Today's blog is about who's the boss of you and your life.  When I say 'Who's The Boss', I'm not talking about the 80's tv show starring Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano.  That show did demonstrate how dysfunctional our lives can become without a definite leader and no direction from a godly perspective.
  
         God is in control and sovereign over everything in our lives and this world.  We need to follow His lead, because He is all powerful, all knowing, outside of time, and the creator of everything.  Our human perspective is faulty, limited, corrupted, and deceiving.  "God has the power and knowledge to prevent anything He chooses to prevent, so anything that does happen must, at the very least, be “allowed” by God.   The fact that sin exists at all proves that not all things that occur are the direct actions of God, who is holy. The reality of human volition (and human accountability) sets the maximum boundary for God’s sovereign control over the universe, which is to say there is a point at which God chooses to allow things that He does not directly cause." [gotquestions.org]

       Psalm 147:5-6  "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.  The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground."
       Psalm 90:2  "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

       "God has the ability to do anything, to take action and intervene in any situation, but He often chooses to act indirectly or to allow certain things for reasons of His own. His will is furthered in any case. God’s “sovereignty” means that He is absolute in authority and unrestricted in His supremacy. Everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will.  This holds true even if certain specific things are not what He would prefer. The right of God to allow mankind’s free choices is just as necessary for true sovereignty as His ability to enact His will, wherever and however He chooses." [gotquestions.org]

        Sovereign grace is a benefit to both believers and non-believers that combines God's sovereignty with His graciousness.  Matthew 5:44-45  "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."  " Even the atheist enjoys the effects of God’s sovereign grace through God’s beautiful creation and His provision of the resources necessary for food, clothing, and housing. God doesn’t owe these things to us, but He sovereignly provides them to exhibit His grace."

        So, knowing God is in control, but gives us a free-will to choose to accept His free gift of salvation, what should our response be?   Ephesians 1:3  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”   Although salvation is 'free' to all people in this world, it does mean acknowledging our sins of pride, envy, doubt, greed, lust, vile thoughts, and more.

      As for myself, I accept God's authority over me now more than in my youth.  Satan tells me the lie that if God allows something, then he is okay with it.  That's not true, but he may use it as a lesson for my good.  A hard concept for me to accept is that 'God is the creator and I am his creation that he can do anything with to fulfill his purposes'.   Storms have come that have affected me, but haven't destroyed me.  Life is not fair, but the purposes of the hurt and happiness are beyond my realm of thoughts.  In the song, 'Good, Good Father', the lyrics say 'You are perfect in all of your ways' but it certainly doesn't feel that way at times.  We must realize our lives are not defined by feelings, but by God's love and grace. My security lies in being united with Christ and the fact that He is in control, not I, gives me peace, comfort, and joy.

God’s wisdom will never lead us astray but always encourages and leads us toward life and wholeness.