It is easy to think of God and recognize His reign when we are at our Sunday assembly. But during the week, at our work or during our leisure time, do we take the time to recognize His sovereignty?
The arrival of David at the head of the people of Israel is a beautiful image of the royalty of God over us. After King Saul’s great disobedience, God chose to give the kingship to David. Samuel anointed David, but David did not immediately take his place on the throne. He remained humbly at the service of Saul, even though he had the opportunity on several occasions to kill Saul and take his place. Even after Saul’s death, David did not impose his rule over all of Israel: the tribe of Benjamin remained loyal to Saul’s family. David was God’s anointed king, but he did not rule over all of Israel immediately (2 Samuel 2:10). He waited for each of the tribes to accept his authority to rule over them.
That is a beautiful illustration of the divine sovereignty over our lives. God is the King of kings, no doubt about that. But He does not impose His rule over our lives. He expects us to recognize Him as King, to surrender our lives to Him. That is why verse John 1:12 says that we may all be creatures of God, but we are not all children of God. To become a child of God, one must believe in His name and receive or accept His authority. Even though Jesus has authority over everything (Ephesians 1:20-22), even though He is the Savior of the world, He will only be our Lord if we choose to declare Him as such (Romans 10:9-10).
Not only have not all humans accepted Christ’s rule (yet), but within ourselves, we must search our hearts to see if we have truly surrendered all areas of our lives to God. It is easy to submit to God when we are in church or serving God, but what about other areas of our lives? Some people can do miracles in the name of Jesus, and yet they are not doing the will of God in all areas of their lives. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV).
How many Christians Singles serve God in their church, but forget all biblical principles when looking for a partner? They even become annoyed and irritated when spiritual authorities remind them to guard themselves for marriage or not to open their hearts to an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14). It is much more difficult to find a partner who shares the same faith, but this challenge should not be negotiable when Christ reigns over our love life. Have you really given the reign of your love life, your finances, or your physical health to Christ?
We all take control of certain areas of our lives, without really realizing it. We can surrender an aspect of our life to Christ, and take it back a few days later! Therefore, it is good to stop and probe our hearts regularly. God is patient and compassionate, and He is always ready to resume His position of protective authority over our lives if we allow Him.