Coming to Grips With God’s Sovereignty

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” —John 14:27

While filming a hunt for The Record Book Project, I could feel my spiritual rope tightening. It was the last evening of the hunt, and my tag was still in my wallet. Filming hunts can be a high-stress situation. It’s hard to make a DVD out of a hunt with no trophy at the end of the story! There’s a constant sense of the need to force it so that you can close the deal.

I had to make a choice, and in choosing, my mind floated to an experience that was still fresh in my spirit. A few months before this hunt the Lord spoke words to me that forever changed not only the way I hunt, but also the way I approach daily life. Ministry, in that season of life, was rocky. I had no clear direction, and had become deeply confused. The Lord spoke to me through Galatians 2:20 and said to my heart, “Either you believe I am sovereign or you don’t.”

Living as a man who is “crucified in Christ and no longer lives” was a concept I’d never really understood. I had preached on this passage many times, but had never really grasped the finality of my own personal death in Christ. Crucifixion is permanent–new life is raised after the fact. Knowing that I live in the power of an eternal God means that nothing comes my way that is stronger than his sovereign design.

Once you come to grips with God’s sovereignty, your heart is set free from the deception of believing that it all depends on you. As the tape continued to roll on this hunt, sovereignty ran through the reels of my mind.

By the way, we named this buck “Sovereignty.”

Think It Through

Are there areas of life where you feel out of control? Consider praying intently that God will invade those spaces and bring order and peace to your life. Come to grips with his sovereignty.

By Jason Cruise. Drawn from a devotional in the NIV Outdoorsman Bible.