We are still considering the theme-A Firm foundation. So far we have seen that truth can only be found in the Word of God. We have discussed the importance of receiving a revelation of the love of God and also having an absolute and confident belief in the goodness of God since it is impossible to build an intimate relationship with God if we do not have an assurance of His love and absolute goodness. In the last episode, we discussed the topic-Understanding the Grace of God and the need to rest on Christ’s accomplished work on the Cross of Calvary and not on our self efforts which would fail us at our time of need.

In this Episode, we shall discuss a topic that most people have never given a thought to and which I am sure will sound strange to you because you have never really allowed your mind to dwell on it.  Our topic for this episode is-God’s Sovereignty and Man’s responsibility.

Do you believe that God is sovereign and that He has 100% control over what happens on earth and to you? This is what we want to examine in this episode.

The word sovereignty means absolute power and authority to govern. So God’s sovereignty is the belief that God is the ultimate ruler and exercises absolute power, wisdom and authority over the earth and all creation including you and I.

Some scriptures in the Bible reference God’s absolute control over all things. Some of these scriptures include-Ephesians 1:11 which states that “God works all things according to the counsel of His will; and Psalm 103:19-His kingdom rules over all. In Isaiah 46:10. God declares-“My purpose will stand and I will accomplish all that I please”

Due to the absolute interpretation of the word-sovereignty and some scriptures of the bible as mentioned above, many people believe that God orchestrates and controls everything that happen on earth according to His will and purpose; that nothing happens unless He allows it; and that God allows every sickness, crisis and disaster that happen on earth

However, while stating unequivocally that God is sovereign, the Bible also places responsibility on us for our actions and decisions. And it places responsibility on the children of God for the plans and purposes of God to manifest.

The fact that you are saved is the sovereign will of God, but you had to place your faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for your salvation to be complete. That was your responsibility.

In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, God commanded believers to make disciples of all nations. He placed the responsibility to spread the Gospel and get men to give their lives to Jesus Christ on Believers. That is our responsibility. It is the sovereign will of God that all men be saved. But it is the responsibility of Believers to spread the Gospel. If believers do not spread the gospel, men would not be saved..

Enjoying the blessings and promises of God is another area where God’s sovereignty and human responsibility interplay. We are encouraged to pray and place our faith in the word of God for His promises to manifest in our lives.  Philippians 4:6-7 instructs, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

The truth is that the bible provides for both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man and we have to accept the fact that both doctrines co-exist.  

Yes, God has absolute power to do all things and control everything. But He has chosen not to orchestrate and control everything that happens on earth according to His will and purpose.  So the belief in the extreme sovereignty of God and that God orchestrates and controls everything that happens to us is really not scriptural according to our experience of the scriptures. The attitude and belief that what will be will be is not scriptural.

How then do we navigate between these two doctrines of God’s sovereignty and Man’s responsibility?.

Genesis 1:27 states that we are created in the image of God and this means we are created with the capacity to make choices. God could make us to obey Him and do His bidding like robots. But He chose not to do this because He prefers that we relate with Him with our free will. Deuteronomy 30:19 declares, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.”

He has given us the responsibility to chose life! To play our part so that His will would be manifest on earth.

Again the truth is that after He created Adam, God delegated some of His sovereignty over the earth to Adam. God gave Adam dominion and control over the earth. True, Adam lost this dominion over the earth. But God restores dominion to those who receive Jesus Christ by granting them the authority to reign over the earth.

This is why God’s good plans. His blessings; His promises for us do not happen automatically. God has shared His authority with us and given us the responsibility to bring His good plans for us into reality. God’s sovereignty goes hand in hand with man’s responsibility.

In 2 Samuel 23, we see an analysis of the mighty men of valour who fought with King David against King Saul. God chose and anointed David as king of Israel when David was a young man. This was God’s sovereign plan. But did David just walk in and assume the position of king? No. David fought; he hid in caves; he killed men; he persisted for years before he became king.  If he did not persist, he would not have become king though God had anointed him.

The children of Israel left Egypt with God’s promise to possess a land of milk and honey. When they got to that land, did they just enter and possess the land automatically. No. They fought for years to posses the land. They had a responsibility to fight to possess their possession in spite of the fact that God said He had given them the land.

This also happened to Joseph after God gave him the dream that his brothers would bow to him. He had to persist through meny years of challenges before his dream came to light. If he had not played his role, God’s plan for him would have been truncated.

So, the Lord’s sovereign plan for us is to prosper us; to give us hope and a good future. His sovereign plan is to bless us; to protect us; to heal us; to provide abundantly for us; to give us long lives. But before we can access God’s good plans for us, we have to exercise His sovereign authority that He delegated to us.

God’s absolute power and control over the earth is not in question. But He has shared His sovereignty and given us the authority to access His sovereign will and plan for our lives by taking up our responsibility.

In order to build a firm spiritual foundation, you need to come to terms with the fact that God does not control everything because He chose to give us the choice to obey Him and He delegated authority to us to implement His sovereign will in our lives.

In my Christian journey, I have come across the theology that God allows sickness and other challenges of life for a reason including to teach His children patience. But this theology does not agree with the nature of God and what we know of Him. James 1:17 says that-every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord. So He does not send us bad gifts. Acts 10:38 states that-Jesus went about all Galilee doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil. Why would He turn around to place sickness on some of His children after healing all? Is it possible that you or I can put cancer or blindness on our child to teach them a lesson? And yet we preach that God who loves us unconditionally can send such sicknesses on His children? The belief that sickness, calamity and challenges happen because God allows them for a reason is not scriptural but a way of escape to make people feel good about their challenges.  

The Bible makes it clear that evil comes from the devil. While 2 Corinthians 4:4 states that the devil is the god of this world, which alludes to the fact that for now, the devil has a degree of authority over the systems of the world; John 10:10 declares that he comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy and Acts 10:38 notes that sickness is an oppression from the devil. So clearly, the devil is the source of evil, sicknesses, challenges and disasters.  

James 4:7 states ‘Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you”. The instruction here is clear. First we must submit to God by placing our faith in His word and His will. Then we are to resist the devil by rejecting his lies and attacks. If the outcome of our lives depended solely on the will of God, God would not tell us to resist the devil after submitting to Him. John 10:10 reveals that the devil works hard to thwart God’s good plans for us. God instructs us to resist the devil’s attempts to impede His plans. Resisting the devil’s attempts is our responsibility which we must play in order for God’s sovereign plan to manifest.

To build a firm foundation in order to stand when the storms of life arise, you need to change the mindset that God exercises absolute control over your life; and that challenges including sicknesses and other problems of life are the will of God. You need to stop blaming God for the devil’s attacks; so that you can resist the devil with resolve and boldness.

Heavenly Father, we acknowledge the fact that every good and perfect gift comes from you; we acknowledge the fact that you are not the author of sicknesses and crisis. We stand in the reality of your word in John 10:10 that you have given us life in abundance and we commit to exercising the authority you delegated to us in order to bring your plans and purposes for our lives into reality.