sovereign.

well this isn't a reverb post, but this is a post from my heart.

this word, sovereignty, has been on my mind and heart a whole lot lately. and honestly i can't grasp what it is I'm suppose to be learning from it. maybe i need to search scripture. maybe its for the very purpose of me learning something very soon. or maybe it is something i have already learned. but whatever it is, I'm going to seek.

our good friend webster defines this word sovereignty as "supreme excellence or the example of it" and "supreme power" and "freedom from external control". now looking at these definitions one can see that there is a resounding theme with each of these definitions. what is that theme you may ask? well, its the understanding that sovereignty initially means to be set apart. now, if i have done my homework properly then i can further dive into this word and see that 'to be set apart' means to be HOLY. and that my friends is a status found in the I AM because He IS just that: HOLY. it is so unique to His nature that it is a characteristic only bound to Him. now, in 1 Peter 1, the apostle Peter describes an act of conduct to the exiles that are dispersed throughout the region as one that may be a little farfetched to those who do not belong to the Lord. in v15 he writes, "but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct". that is very interesting isn't, especially since i just described that God is the only one who has attained the characteristic of "being Holy". I'm not saying that we are in any way in relation to being God, but rather the only way that we can ever attain something so high is apart from ourselves. you see, the only reason Peter can make this claim for us to be Holy just as the Creator of the universe is Holy is because there has been something done for us to attain this...

"But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man'sdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." [Romans 5:15-19]

you see, God did something only He could do and He did it perfectly. that was all done apart from ourselves. why? cause we can't. [notice that i wrote that in present tense] there is no way on earth that i can ever attain something so perfect on my own. C.S. Lewis writes in his book, Mere Christianity, "The perfect submission, the perfect suffering, the perfect death were not only easier to Jesus because He was God, but were possible only because He was God." Jesus Himself had to make a way for me to stand holy before God. and it isn't me that God sees, rather it is Christ standing before me. it is by the wounds of a Savior that i can stand clean before the Father. and in that i fall on my knees in humble adoration. i have been sanctified, cleansed, redeemed, bought with a price. i am still learning to trust. and i am learning to be just like my Father in all i say and do, and that is to be holy.

that was all for my/our good that Christ died, and its because He is sovereign over us all. He is supreme in power. He is separate from all others. He IS. and in all that, i find myself trembling, yet having so much peace.

i leave you with this song. i feel that it encompasses everything i just wrote. blessings friends.

There is strength within the sorrow, There is beauty in our tears

You meet us in our mourning, With a love that casts out fear

You are working in our waiting, Sanctifying us

When beyond our understanding, You’re teaching us to trust

Your plans are still to prosper, You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
Faithful forever, Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You are wisdom unimagined, Who could understand your ways
Reigning high above the heavens, Reaching down in endless grace
Youʼre the Lifter of the lowly, Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me, Your promises are my delight

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good, You turn it for our good and for your glory
Even in the valley You are faithful
Youʼre working for our good, Youʼre working for our good and for your glory