Practical Steps to Embrace God’s Sovereignty in Everyday Life

We realize that we need to acknowledge God is sovereign.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12 NIV “Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

• 1. God controls everything.
• 2. He has all knowledge.
• 3. He is all power.
• 4. Everything comes from Him.

But, we need to remember that He cares about us.

Romans 8:28 NIV “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

God is not trying to make us robots. He just wants us to know, He is in control. After all, He created us. What He has for us is good.

It’s one thing to realize God is sovereign, another to know how to apply that in our lives.

Here are some practical ways to apply it in our lives.

• Start your day in prayer.
• Seek His guidance about decisions and plans.
• Accept His will.
• Pray and apply scripture in challenges
• Trust Him in sorrow.
• Conclusion

Start your day in Prayer.

Jeremiah 29:12 NIV “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

There is no better way to start your day than talking to the Lord. A good way to remember how to pray is using the acrostic ACTS.

• A- adoration- Tell God how great He is. Praise Him for previously answered prayer.
• C- Confession- Make sure there is not any unconfessed sin that can break fellowship with God.
• T- Thanksgiving- Let Him know you are grateful for His blessings.
• S- Supplication-This is the time to tell Him about your concerns and those of others.

Seek His guidance about decisions and plans.

James 4:13-15 NIV “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

The Lord wants to be involved in our life. When we seek Him first, He has the chance to guide us. Sometimes, we think we know best, but with His counsel, we realize that His is right. Discipleship.com gives these tips:

• Go to the Bible first.
• If not in scripture, pray and use Godly wisdom.
• If necessary, seek Godly counsel.

Accept His will.

Job 42:1-6 NIV “ Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

According to Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, Job got the message. God’s purpose is all that counts and He is able to bring it to pass. Job realizes that he has a friend in God. He accepts God’s will for his life.

Pray and apply scripture in challenges.

Genesis 24:12-15 NIV “Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.”

Abraham’s servant was nervous about finding the right young woman for Issac. Does he try to guess on his own? No, he goes to the Lord in prayer and asks for guidance.

There are situations in our life that present challenges that we, too, are nervous and worried about.

Example, what if you are having a hard time getting along with someone at work. Our natural inclination is to fight back, call names and stay frustrated.

Go to the Lord in prayer and tell Him honestly about how you feel. This person makes you mad because they insult you or make you feel stupid. The Lord understands.

Then go to the concordance in the back of the Bible and look for the topic that is bothering you the most. Example, anger. See what the Lord tells you in the verses that are listed under anger.

We don’t always want to apply what it says. Ask God for Him to sooth your feelings and help you do the right thing. It can be surprising how the person at work will react.

Trust God in Sorrow.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 NIV “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”

Here is a tough one. When we lose someone, we become really entangled in our feelings, it’s only natural. Everything seems to be in disarray. Our thinking is not clear and pain can be overwhelming.

We may even wonder where God is. Why has He allowed it?

We see in 1 Thessalonians that death doesn’t mean the same to Christians as unbelievers. We have hope to see our loved ones again, hope that God can help us with His comfort. Remember what Jesus said.

John 16:33 NIV  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Life is full of challenges. Jesus knows all about them. Because He overcame them, we can too with His help.

Conclusion

God wants us to know He is sovereign so we can trust in Him. He knows what is best.

Applying these steps can help you submit to God in all your ways. A good way to learn more about God’s sovereignty is to do a topical study. Here you read all the verses about the subject, (concordance) meditate and pray about them. If you would like to go further, there are commentaries online that will help explain their meaning. Bible Study Tools is a good one to go to.

If you have questions, I would love to help. -Jackie