It means God is always in control; it does not mean that He dictates; it means that in spite of everything that happens He is STILL in control and His will still prevails.

One of my favorite books, Fine China is For Single Women Too by Lydia Brownback, carries the theme of God's sovereignty throughout it's pages. This book reinforces the idea that trusting the Lord in all His sovereignty provides safety. It reminds me that we are to look beyond today and view our lives in light of eternity. It reminds me that in spite of my own shortcomings that the Lord's will prevails.
Brownback discusses finding contentment and joy living exactly where God places us at any given time. She discusses Joshua dispersing the land to the various tribes and how there wasn't equal division of the land; the Levites didn't even get any land to call their own. She quotes Dean Ulrich in regards to this passage:
God will sovereignly direct your steps and put you in the place of service that He wants--however great or small. He'll take care of the opportunities for advancement, and He'll see to it that the things about which we worry so much will turn out well. For now, though, He's more interested in the fact that you faithfully follow Him in the place where He has you. In the future, He'll continue to draw and redraw the boundary lines the way that He wants, but He wants you to be faithful in the boundary lines that He has drawn now.
We tend to eye up our neighbor's "property"--whether it be tangible possessions or skills, talents, achievements, friends, or looks. The next time you are tempted to eye up your neighbor's property, think of these land surveys. They were "distributed by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting" (Josh. 19:51). Remember that God has drawn your boundary lines. Given your eternal hope--the fact that your hope in Christ transcends this life--you can say that your boundaries are pleasant.
So, whether you are living within the boundaries of motherhood, marriage, singleness--whatever the boundaries, God has drawn around each one of us the lines in which we are to live. And it is while living within these boundaries, while trusting God's sovereignty, that we are to faithfully follow Him. In this is true contentment.
2 comments:
Great post Kelly! What a great reminder.
You know I agree, friend.
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