Thursday, July 30, 2009

2009 – Day 210.July 30 – Surprising Sovereignty

Passage of the Day: Esther 7 … Linked for study …

My Journal for Today:
Today Swindoll reminded me of an important life lesson we need to keep in perspective from our study of Esther’s life. If you’ve been following what I’ve written the past few days under Swindoll’s devotional guidance, I’ve written of God’s sovereign intervention in the lives of the key players in the Book of Esther, as well as in our lives. And in summary, we’ve seen that God is God and we are not; … that God is in control of the events which alter and illuminate our times (to quote Walter Cronkite again); … and that we need to seek God’s will and act on His purpose through out free will and personal choices.

But Swindoll makes a good additional point. A distorted view in the awe of God’s sovereignty could cause the Christian to become complacent and/or apathetic. In other words, if we take an immature view of God’s sovereignty to lead us to sit back and do nothing because of God being in control, we miss God’s point of giving us the free will to act as His agents of change in this world. If we were to think, “Well, God’s in control; why should I worry? He will do what He wants to anyway.” And in one sense that has truth imbedded in that position. However, if I miss God’s purpose … that He wants me to be His legs, arms, hands, and mouth in this world, … the Spirit-led discernment and God-led enabling grace He gives me to do my part in shaping (or reshaping) this world could be for naught.

Yes, God is the sovereign God; but He created me to do my part in His sovereign plan; and He has given me, when I was born again into His family, His Spirit delivered enabling grace to be an integral part of His will for His world, His church, and His kingdom. And is that not the most awesome character-building truth? I do whatever I can to honor and glorify my God; and my God gives me His power to do just that.

What more can be said than … HALLELUJAH!!?

My Prayer for Today: Yes, Lord, … quite simply … HALLELUJAH! Amen

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