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!

Mr. Know-It-All

We all know one (at least one) person who thinks they know everything. These are the obnoxious people who correct you when you weren't even wrong only to tell you how you could have been MORE right. They throw in needless information because they feel that the conversation is somehow inadequate without their contribution. Here in the south, these people end up earning a nickname: Mr. or Mrs. Know-It-All. While some people would love nothing more than to be called that in public (for everyone to hear), I assure you, it's not a compliment. 

There is One who is the ultimate "know-it-all" and He is God. The proper term is called "omniscient." It means that God knows everything. It sounds like it means that God is just really smart and knows all there is to know, but it's deeper than that. Much deeper.

Let's take a look...

Psalm 139:1-6

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. 5 You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!  

It gets a little more personal when you realize that God knows everything about you. He knows your thoughts, your words, your motives, your secrets, your sin, your weaknesses and your strengths. He knows when you stand, sit, walk, run and kneel (ahem). He knows your limitations and when you need to rest. He knows when you've had all you can take and when you can push a little further. He knows all of your wounds, heartaches and brokenness, but He also knows all of your pride, arrogance, and selfishness. Wherever you go, He has gone before and will go after you.

I don't know about you, but that is a pretty scary thought. The God of all creation knows EVERYTHING about me. I mess up. I am FAR from perfect and I don't always do the right thing. I'm a human who was born with a sin nature just like everyone else on the planet. I am hopeless without Him. I know how easy it is to slip into sin and how hard repentance can be. I look at all the things I know about myself and all things God knows about me and I am humbled...especially by the last part of verse 5 in the previous scripture. It says, "...You place your hand of blessing on my head."

Such knowledge truly is too wonderful for me and too great for me to know! He knows it all...AND YET. Those are two of my favorite words because it means that in spite of us, God can do some incredible things that are Anything But Typical. It's not typical to love people who betray you. It's not typical to bless people who curse you. It's not typical to offer life to those who are dead in sin...but He did because not only does He know your past, and your present, but He knows what you CAN be with Him.

WOW! Even though we are miserable wretches without God, He still extends His hand of love and blessing. He knows all of our sin and yet He loves us anyway! I am so unworthy!