Resting in God’s Sovereignty Is Progressive

As you got out of bed this morning, you woke up in a world being ruled by God. He ruled yesterday. He rules today. He will rule tomorrow.

Today, we learn from Paul that resting in God’s sovereignty is progressive. In other words, it is learned gradually, over time, not overnight.

I have learned to be content. (v. 11, emphasis added)

When Paul says, “I have learned to be content,” the Greek word he uses that’s translated as “learned” is emathon. Try saying it out loud:e-math-on. In the middle of this Greek word is the English four-letter word: math. Paul had learned to rest in God’s sovereignty like we learned the multiplication chart. Once he learned it, he knew it. The same is true for us.

Now, that raises the question: How did Paul learn to be content in all circumstances? What was his learning process?

You can’t learn it from reading a book, attending a conference, hearing a sermon, or attending a small group. These may help you get there, but I’m finding that God usually uses three tools to help us learn to rest in his sovereignty:

Time, Troubles, and Trust

The tool of time. As with math, you don’t learn it overnight. It requires time.

The tool of troubles. Paul learned the importance of this tool through seclusion, struggles, and suffering. Since you won’t avoid troubles, you might as well decide not to waste them but rather to invest them. Through the troubles we face, we learn to rest in his sovereignty.

The tool of trust. Resting requires trust, trusting God to use your troubles to help conform you to the image of his Son and to fulfill his purposes.

The children of Israel never learned to trust God. God couldn’t do enough miracles to gain their trust. Let me ask you this: How much more does God have to do in your life to gain your trust? One more miracle? One more prayer answered? One more ___________? You fill in the blank.

If Paul had to learn it, we all must also: his sovereignty is trustworthy.

Today’s Prayer

Lord, give me the faith to get to the place in my relationship with you to honestly say that you do not have to do one more thing in my life for me to trust you. In Jesus’s name, amen.