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!

My Mind is Officially Blown

It is so challenging to try to understand God's nature, names, and attributes with this limited, finite mind. It is hard for me to image a limitless existence. Today's meditation was on another attribute of God. God is transcendent.

Transcendent. What does that mean?

Psalm 113:4-6

4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?  

The earth is enormous. The heavens are immeasurable. To think of God having to stoop down to look on either one blows my mind.

God is not simply the top dog or the big wig of the universe. He is beyond our universe. He created all that we experience with our senses. Everything that can be studied, measured, added, felt, tasted, touched, seen, and heard are things God created.

He was never created. He just IS and always will be. He is to be exalted and honored above all creation.

So what does that mean for us? It means our God is above all the problems and trials we face. He is above all the petty junk we have to deal with. It means He is beyond our reach and comprehension...and yet He draws us to Him and wants us to know Him. He wants us to try to understand Him even though we aren't quite fully capable of doing so. If we seek Him, He will be found because this great big God that we serve wants to have a relationship with us.

Talk about something that blows your mind!

Most of you know how much I love music. It is such a huge part of my relationship with God so I'd like to share one of my favorite songs with you. Please take a few minutes to listen to it and as you listen to the words, think about how God is transcendent and how He will always remain: