Sovereignty

I hurt myself running last week. My heel had been hurting for about 2 weeks and at first, I thought it was just muscle soreness and tightness. But it didn't get better even though I was stretching and putting ice on it regularly. Last Monday I went on my daily run and I had to stop halfway through because my heel was hurting so much. I got home and it was completely swollen and starting to bruise. Trip to the sports medicine specialist and lo and behold, I have Achilles tendinitis. No running for 6 weeks. Not going to lie, not running is driving me a little nuts. But the important thing is that I'm starting to heal.

Now, why did I choose to start off this post with that? Well, since I'm not able to run right now, I feel like part of my day is missing. Even though my heel hurts, this incident is actually kind of a blessing. I've been having trouble finding time during the day to spend time with God. Slowing down has helped me find that time and I can focus on God.

When we think about God, words like loving and kind come to mind. What about sovereign? That's not a word you hear people use to describe God that often. Sovereignty, in basic terms, is God's total authority and control over all things. The biggest thing that keeps us from recognizing God's sovereignty is our pride. We don't like to think we don't have control.

My pastor used Daniel chapter 4 as an example of how pride causes us to lose sight of God's sovereignty. This chapter deals with King Nebuchadnezzar. This guy had some major pride issues. Ruler of Babylon, he was extremely wealthy, had a huge palace, and at that point in history, he had world dominance. Not to mention that it was during his rule that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built.

Then one night, King "Nezzar" had a dream, and this dream freaked him out. He dreamt that there was a huge tree that covered the entire earth. All the animals were fed from the tree and it was abundant. But then, the tree was chopped down and just the stump and roots were left. The animals ran away, and suddenly a messenger from heaven starting talking about the tree like it was a man, saying that he was going to live like an animal and think like an animal for 7 years. Yeah, if I had that dream, I might be a little freaked out too.

Daniel interpreted the dream for Nezzar. He told him that the tree was really him. His power was going to be taken from him and he would be driven away from the kingdom. He was going to live and act like an animal for 7 years until "You acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."

You can guess what happened after this. Nebuchadnezzar's problem was that he thought he had the power. He was so proud of "everything he had done," that he forgot about God. He was taking credit for what God did. It was God who created him and gave him the family he was born into. It was God who gave him the opportunities that got him to this point. And it was God who took away his sanity until he finally got the picture.

How often do you take credit for what God has done in your life? We're all guilty of it. When I thought about this, I took a moment to thank God and praise him for everything he's done for me.

Lord, thank you for creating me and giving me a wonderful family that raised me to love you. Thank you for all of the experiences and opportunities that shaped me and continue to shape me into the person you want me to be. I don't understand everything in my life, but I know that you have control over all things and I am dependent on you. And that gives me peace. All the glory goes to you.