Realizing and embracing God’s wise control and direction of nature will build greater confidence when nature gets ugly & threatening. If I really believe that God’s all-wise, loving and benevolent hand is guiding all of nature, I will not be as quick to be controlled by fear and anxiety when nature seems to threaten life and well-being. This is the heart of the first few lines of Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
(Psalm 46:1-3 ESV)
How do I find peace and confidence when it looks to me like all nature’s fury is coming against me? I remind myself, no, I preach powerfully to myself, reminding myself that not one drop of rain, not one puff of wind, not one spark of lightning, not one minor tremor of the earth can occur except by God’s design. I remind myself that it is all according to His plan that is ultimately for my good and His glory. I take refuge in Him and His ever present help. I choose to trust God and entrust my life to His sovereign plan and care.
There is a second source of confidence found in God’s sovereignty over nature that also provides great comfort. We find it in Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve already taken a glimpse at what Jesus teaches here, now let’s look at the fuller context and the lesson He teaches.
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. (Matthew 6:26-30)
Jesus uses God’s sovereign care over some of the least significant aspects of the ebb and flow of nature to teach us a very important lesson. He moves from the insignificant of nature to the most significant in nature, humanity. He shows us that God meticulously cares for a single sparrow and the wild flowers. Then, He teaches us that God’s sovereign care in our lives far exceeds His sovereign care of nature in these small, insignificant details. He teaches us that God’s providential care for us extends even to a single hair on our heads!
What comfort! What cause for confidence! So, why worry? If God so perfectly and sovereignly cares for the rest of creation, don’t you think He will take care of you? Come on, think about it! Choose to embrace sovereignty. Choose to trust God.
God is in control . . . really, He is. And if God can perfectly sustain and orchestrate the grand symphony of the rest of creation, don’t you think He can take care of you and me?
Next: (90) God's Sovereignty Over History
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