Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”
Our Bible verse for today: “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God is sovereign over it all and you can trust Him.”
When we say that God is “sovereign” over all things we mean that He is in absolute and total control over everything. He is aware, in advance, of everything that happens and He has power over it all. There is no event that is too big for Him to control, and there is no issue too little to escape His attention. Also, He directs it all according to His perfect will.
Sometimes God exercises His will directly by intervening in situations and bringing them to His desired end. This is His “direct will”. At other times He simply allows things to occur as a result of the exercise of individual free will, or because of the natural progression of things that happen in a broken and sin-filled world. In those cases God hasn’t intervened directly but has simply chosen to allow things to occur. This is known as his “permissive will”. In other words for His own purposes and in His divine wisdom He “permitted” it to happen. But still, He knew about it and it was within His control the entire time.
What does all this have to do with you and me and our trust in God? Jesus answered that for us in Matthew 10:29-31 and again in Matthew 6:25-33. God is aware of everything about you and about your life, including those two sparrows you can hear chirping in the tree outside your window and the number of hairs on your head. Jesus says that if God cares for the sparrows then He will surely care for you too because as much as He does love those sparrows, He loves you even more.
Life is often confusing and painful. Many times things are happening to us that we don’t understand and we find ourselves fretting and anxious about an uncertain future. At such times we can draw a great sense of reassurance from the truth the God who loves us is also sovereign over the circumstances of our lives. Although we don’t understand, He does. And although much of what’s happening to us is beyond our control, it’s not beyond His.
Because God is sovereign and because He loves us completely and unconditionally, we can trust Him.
God Bless, Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 