Episode #213 God is Still King: Find Safety in Him – Knowing God

Hey friends, it's Jen, and today on Good God Talks, we're talking about how God is sovereign. He is the highest power on earth. He is above all, the greatest authority, King of kings.

And this is on display all throughout the Bible. But even with that being true, it can be hard to see God show up this way in our day to day lives. And that's part of the reason that we're in this series.

As we get to know more of these attributes of God, as we understand more of what they mean and how they're on display in Scripture, we're then equipped to notice God showing up this way more often and more readily in our day-to-day lives, because God doesn't change.

This is still true of him. God is sovereign.

One example we have of this is in Genesis 50, and this is in the story of Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. And then he ended up working in Potiphar's house and he was accused of a crime he didn't do. Then he was thrown into prison where he helped some prisoners, but they forgot about him when they got out of prison. And eventually he found himself in service to Pharaoh and was promoted to being the second in command over all of Egypt, to help the people survive a great famine in the land.

Now, all of these circumstances ended up putting Joseph in a really great place, but the journey to get there was full of pain and heartache.

He was betrayed by his own family.

But listen to how Joseph describes God's sovereignty in what happened to him.

But Joseph said to them, “– you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)

Joseph looked beyond his own circumstances and beyond the hardship that he went through, and he trusted God's sovereignty to use even those painful things for good. We see this on an even greater display in Jesus as he was being accused and sentenced to death.

And we talked about this a little bit recently in episode 208 about how God is all powerful. Jesus is being handed over to be crucified and Jesus tells them, “you would have no authority over me at all, unless it had been given to you from above” (John 19:11). Jesus recognized that God was using this crucifixion and the evilness of humanity to crucify his beloved son for our good.

And I chose those examples for us because it can be hard for us to notice God's sovereignty.

First, it can be hard to notice God's sovereignty in the good, pleasant, enjoyable things. I can be so caught up in the joy and the excitement of what's happening that I can overlook the reality that this is God's hand at work too. These good things are answered prayers, are signs and demonstrations of God's attentiveness and care. This is also God working for my good.

But also, God's sovereignty is still on display in the hard things. Even the things the enemy would use for evil, God can use for good, as we saw in the life of Joseph, and even in the life and death of Jesus.

And so for the rest of our episode today, I actually want to read verses one through nine of Isaiah 24, and I'll read it for us in the New Living Translation. As I read, I encourage you to pay attention to aspects of imagery that jump out at you, and to listen for God's sovereign provision. I'll start reading from verse one.

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name,
for you are my God.
You do such wonderful things!
You planned them long ago,
and now you have accomplished them.
You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins.
Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble.
Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear
and will never be rebuilt.
Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory;
ruthless nations will fear you.
But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
are like a storm beating against a wall,
or like the relentless heat of the desert.
But you silence the roar of foreign nations.
As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,
so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.
In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
He will swallow up death forever!
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
against his land and people.
The Lord has spoken!
In that day the people will proclaim,
‘This is our God!
We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!’” (Isaiah 24:1-9 NLT)

Let's practice proclaiming today what we'll proclaim together as his people on that day. This is our God and we trust him. And let's also come to him honestly, sharing with him where this is hard for us. And here's a question you can ask him:

God, how can I trust you as my sovereign King and refuge?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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