“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov. 21:1, all ESV unless specified).
When I was in the catholic elementary school, because of the teaching that God can make something out of nothing and that He knows everything, my admiration for Him began to blossom in my heart.
As I grew up and continued to learn more of His Great Power and His complete control of the whole universe, my regard for God soared higher! At that point in my life, I began also to become interested in reading and studying His Word (the Bible).
When I became familiar of His Love – that He loves even the unlovable – my admiration for Him climbed to a different level – I was beginning to fall in love with Him.
Then, I was introduced to His Grace. It was not easy for me to grasp and appreciate His readiness to bring me into His Kingdom, not because of any good work I had done or I would do, but because of His mercy. As if I was again struggling with my early thought before – how He could make something out of nothing. But God made His Words clear to me, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9).
Because of the height of my adoration for Him, then, I finally fell in love with Him! By that time, I became also interested in reading Christian books. For I wanted to find out and understand more about His grace and be acquainted with Him as much as I can.
As God continued to make Himself known to me, I realized more that He is indeed worthy not only of our love, but also of our worship, especially when I became aware of His Sovereignty. Because of it, my admiration for His Power, Love, Grace, Holiness, and His other attributes was magnified. It was a new level of appreciation of God. I felt I fell in love with Him again!
Before I realized the Beauty of His Sovereignty, I was moved to consider some of His Words, especially the following:
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Prov. 16:9).
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Prov. 19:21).
“…I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” (Isa. 46:11).
“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov. 21:1).
“…the LORD STIRRED UP THE SPIRIT of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation …” (Ezra 1:1.)
“Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone WHOSE SPIRIT GOD HAD STIRRED to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.
” (Ezra 1:5).
“…for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose…” (Rev. 17:17).
I realized that in order to accomplish God’s Sovereign Will, He does not need to make us automatons. But though we have our own different choices, God can make us willing – He can direct our steps, turn our heart, or stir our spirit – to accomplish His Will.
He can plant directly the thought in our mind – just what He did to Cyrus -- or use other means – just like how He made Jonah willing to accomplish His Will, by using the storm and also a big fish to swallow Jonah. When God told him to go to Nineveh, we read his initial reaction in Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” But after his experience (Jonah 1:4 to 2:10), we read:
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord...” (Jonah 3:1-3.)
God did not turn Jonah into a robot. He made him willing to choose and perform what God wanted. Nor Nebuchadnezzar – who had said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" (Dan. 4:30) – became a robot, when he finally “…blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, What have you done?" (Dan. 4:34-35).
In order for His people to obey Him, He does not need to turn them into robots. We read in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
If ever there is a desire in our heart to obey the Sovereign God, it is not just the product of our own heart or spirit. We choose to follow Him, because He has chosen first to give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. He puts His Spirit within us, so we are able to obey Him.
It could refer not only to the physical chosen people of God, the Israelites, for the Apostle Paul wrote also these words to the New Testament Christians:
“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12).
“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).
He or His Spirit does not just hover on His people. His Word states, “I will put My Spirit WITHIN you…” or “God works IN you…” He does not need our permission, before He can work in us, open our heart, or put a new spirit within us. And if we are “controlled … by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:9, NIV), it does not mean we are automatons. He made us willing (Ps. 51:12).
Surely, the Heavenly Sovereign King does not need the approval of earthly kings, before He could stir or move their spirits to accomplish His Will.
And when He works in us, He works to enable us to work “for His good pleasure” – to fulfill His purpose. Paul also wrote, “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” (Phil. 1:6.)
I saw also the Sovereignty of God in saving His people in the following verses:
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30).
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; HE WILL SURELY DO IT” (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
“Now TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO KEEP YOU from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day…This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:44, 65).
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).
As I bask in God’s Power, Love, Grace, Mercy -- amplified by His Sovereignty, His complete control of everything – it’s easy to trust in Him. I begin to understand what it means “to rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8).
But as I realize my great need for Him, I feel in a greater degree my helplessness and worthlessness. Not only I acknowledge that all my deeds before were “like polluted garment” in His sight (Isa. 64:6), but every intention of my thought “was only evil continually.” And even my so-called good choices fell short of His glory.
Actually, if we encounter the Sovereign God, the following words would shout from our heart:
“I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works” (Psalm 73:22-28).
Finally, we would also realize that the Gospel is not only the declaration of salvation of the Loving God, but also the demonstration of His Sovereign Power to save His people. He would not force them to be saved. But He could enable them to become willing. He could guide them, so, finally, He could receive them to His glory.
PRAYER: Thank You so much, our Sovereign God, for Your Power and Love and Mercy. Thank You for Your Son, for through Him You demonstrated Your Love for us. And thank You for Your Spirit that You made us understand and experience the Power of Your salvation. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
