Sovereignty

By Fadi Kamel

While riding shotgun as my wife Jillian drove along the coast of Lake Huron, I was mesmerized by the massive size of the body of water. In the same awestruck moment, I had a revelation. What looked like an ocean to me was a drop of water in a puddle to God. The large body of water reminded me that the God who “drew the circle on the face of the deep” (Proverbs 8:27 ESV) is the same God who reigns sovereign today. This produced a rush of inner peace and comforted my anxious heart.

In the last couple of months, I have tried to be intentional about how much social media and news I consume, though admittedly I have failed miserably. I fell into the temptation of attempting to listen to all the voices and that left me with a sense of discord. I started to believe that peace was equal to how quiet the world is, and since our world is so loud right now, that peace is nonexistent. Due to this, on our trip up the thumb to Jillian’s parents, my mind and heart were racing. My inner self was anything but still, and the imagery of God’s sovereignty was just what my heart needed. The reminder that God is sovereign through all ages brought me peace.

Things outside of me may be loud and chaotic, but that does not mean that God isn’t in control. Our world will always be in chaos, and the lie that you need to wait for it to quiet down will steal your peace. Peace is not an outcome of a quiet world; peace is a product of a still heart. I heard the Lord tell me, “Peace is not the quietness on the outside but the stillness on the inside.” As Psalm 46:10 (NIV) tells us, “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”

This stillness inside—this peace, is independent of this world and dependent on God. The same God who filled the depths of the earth with water is the God who is exalted high and mighty above this noisy world. There is a peace that exists by trusting that He is in control. It is found in the assurance of knowing that God is exalted high through His son Jesus and all authority has been given to Him. I still find myself falling into the discord of this chaotic world, but I am continually reminded that I can find stillness in my inner being by having confidence in His sovereignty.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 1:18-23 NIV)