Authority

Psalm 29:4-5 "The voice of the Lord is powerful;

the voice of the Lord is majestic

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

The Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon"

The Lord is powerful and majestic. At His words things are destroyed or created. The cedars of Lebanon are enormous trees- 120 ft tall, 9 ft in diameter. This verse tells us the Lord's voice breaks this tree to pieces. It is a testament to the power of the Lord. He is in authority. He alone determines the direction of our lives. Proverbs 19:21 says "Many plans are in a man's heart but it its the Lord's purpose that prevails".

No matter what is going on in each of our lives, the Lord is in charge of it. Everything is in his hands. The question that remains, do you believe this?? If you do it changes the entire outlook and way that you live your life. When you decide that you are not in control, but God has the control, you do not worry about your life. God has you in His hands and is perfectly capable of working things out with out you. However, we as righteous followers of His word have unique position in that we have His ear. He hears our cries, our prayers, and our desires. He sometimes cannot fulfill our desire for our own good- but the comfort he offers is supreme.

The other end of that question is if you do not believe that God is supreme. If you cannot trust the Lord to rule your life and take care of the details then your life will be wrought with worry. You will be tossed from side to side with the winds. James 1 talks about asking wisdom from God and as it goes on it talks about not believing when you ask- 1:6 says But when you ask you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by the winds.

When we doubt God, we are tossed about with the whoas and worries that this life has to offer. But someone who trusts in God is firmly planted. Psalms 1:2-3 the one who delights in the law of the Lord, who meditates on His law day and night, He is like a tree planted by streams of water, and yields its fruits in season. Its leaves do not wither-whatever they do prospers."

This is a difficult concept to understand- especially in a time of trial and difficulty. I know, it took me some time to understand this concept. I was a worrier. I would say I understood the authority and the sovereignty of God but when difficulty came I would lean on my own knowledge and rush God's work. When God was not fast enough for me I would "help" him along. This way of thinking has gotten me into many a difficult situation. Thank You Lord , that you are merciful and came to my rescue.

The best way to come to the understanding of God's sovereignty is to ask him to show you. Ask God to reveal himself to you and to glorify himself. He is brilliant at bringing his own glory to be known. The kicker is you cannot take credit. The credit belongs only to the Lord. This is a difficult thing for so many people to understand. Society is so "I" focused.

A perfect example is when I was having a very big difficulty in my life. My family life was truly struggling. I remember I had asked God to reveal his truth to me and show himself powerful and be glorified in the circumstances. He ended up pulling through. He made Himself known very clearly through his word and compelled me to follow. Afterwards people praised me for the things that I had done. Every time I tried to say that it was God people would try to correct me and remind me of all that I had done. No one wants to hear how I had done nothing and left to my own devices time and time again I would destroy and fail everything. I had proved that to myself very clearly!!! Every time I let God take control things work out just the way they should. But people want to take the credit. So to truly watch for God's sovereignty we need to be willing to step out of the way and let God shine through.