What Does a Banana Taste Like?

Sovereign. That's one of those words that I've always had trouble processing. When I realized that was my meditation for today, I was like, "Oh great! This should be interesting." You know how you have words that you feel like you understand in your mind, but it's hard to describe? Yep, that is how I am with the word "sovereign." It's like someone who asks "What does a banana taste like?" (A banana!) You can say it tastes sweet, but nothing else tastes like a banana so you have nothing to compare it to.

Much like that banana, there is nothing to which I can compare the sovereignty of God. That is what trips me up. Oftentimes, I explain things by making comparisons. My brain likes to process new information by connecting it with something I'm already familiar with so when I have to think of God's sovereignty, my brain grows weary of trying to compare it to the familiar.

Anything that we can come up with can not compare to the sovereignty of God. It's really a combination of several of His attributes that I've already blogged about all rolled up into one. Consider this:

Jehovah  +  Omniscient  +  Omnipresent  +  Omnipotent  +  Infinite = Sovereignty of God  

Translate that equation into a sentence and you've got:

I AM ultimate knowledge, existing everywhere at once, and abundantly powerful without beginning, end, or limits. Whoa! That really puts it in perspective.

Scripture says:

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength. 13 "O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!  

As I have embarked on this journey, I have processed God piece by piece. I have taken it one attribute at a time or one name at a time to learn more about His character. Each day, I have been blown away by who God is and who He will always be. It isn't that he "tries" to be these things. He just IS.

Because God is sovereign, we have access to knowledge and limitless power as He surrounds us in every part of creation and allows His spirit to live in us. The Spirit of the sovereign God, the creator of all things, chooses to live in us to guide us, strengthen us, and help us on our journey.

Whoa!

Read that last sentence again. Doesn't that blow your mind?!

I was right in the beginning when I said that I have nothing to compare it to. Nothing compares to that!

I feel like a blonde joke.

Years ago, blonde jokes were "all the rage." Every time you turned around someone was coming up with another joke about people with blonde hair (implying, of course, that they are all dumb air-heads). Even though I was born with blonde hair, I must admit that I have laughed at my fair share of those jokes. One of my favorites goes something like this:

How do you kill a blonde? Answer: Put spikes on her shoulder pads!

Yeah, yeah, I know. Not only is that one mean, but it is totally dated. For any of my younger friends, you're probably thinking, "What the heck are shoulder pads?" You don't want to know.

I say all of that to say that I felt like a blonde today because as I meditated on today's attribute of God, I kept finding myself getting lost in thought, cocking my head to one side, and staring blankly into space with a confused look on my face.

Omnipotent. God is onmipotent.

Omnipotent is one of those terms that can easily be "church-i-fied" (a christy-ism, of course), underestimated, and taken for granted. Many of the sacred words used to describe God have been said so much in the church that people often say them without even understanding what they mean.

Omnipotent means that God is powerful. Not only that, but if you remember yesterday's blog, I wrote how God is infinite (no limits whatsoever). So when you put those two together, you get an unlimited God who has unlimited power.

HARD. Concept. For me. To grasp.

Check this out:

Jeremiah 32:17-18, 26-27

17 "O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you! 18 You are loving and kind to thousands, though children suffer for their parents' sins. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD Almighty.

26 Then this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 27 "I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?

My human brain is so finite and limited that I just can't understand the reality of no limits. I look at myself and my own life and see LOTS of limits. I try to be a positive person, but the truth is that I can be very skeptical, cynical, and negative sometimes (and when I am feeling that way, I don't want all your cutsie smilie faces and jokes, LOL). As most of you would imagine, I am not this way as often as I used to be because of the grace of God and the things he has taught me over this past year and half of my life.

Still, my life as a human being is very limited. I have hopes and dreams that will never be fulfilled. I have put a cap on the whole height thing and it's all a journey to munchkinland from this point forward (bone loss with age, yadda yadda yadda). I have to wait in the check out line holding one item while the person in front of me has a full cart and I'm in a hurry. I have to endure the idiot drivers who think its ok to speed and ride my bumper while I pretend they're honking because they love Jesus.

I am limited. This world is my temporary home, thankfully, and I look forward to the day where I don't have to worry with the limitations of this life. But for now, I am a limited person trying to understand an unlimited God.

This verse says that:

1. Nothing is too hard for God.

2. He loves people (even when the children are suffering for the sins of their parents) and is kind to them.

3. He is great and powerful.

Even though I can't fathom the love, power, and greatness of God with my faulty human brain, there are some things I understand with my heart.

I understand that because of God's omnipotence, I am safe with Him. He loves me in spite of my faults and has the power to do anything. Read that again: anything.

If God has the power to do anything, why do I struggle with doubt? Why do I worry? What is there to fear if God is on my side?! Nothing!

Our struggles and pain in this life can be too much to bear at times, but it's not too hard for God.

And now, I must go continue my meditation because at this point, I want Him to search my heart and show me anything that I have been afraid to give over to Him. Are there any reigns that I simply can't let go of? I want to know so I can confess that to Him and be healed.

I serve an unlimited God who has such an abundance of power that NOTHING is too difficult for Him. That means it's time for me to let go of it all and trust Him completely. How about you?