God's sovereignty over people
I spent some time in a café this morning reading Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. This is such a good and encouraging book. I grew up in a reformed church, and God’s sovereignty over all things is not news to me, but I do need reminding. Here is just one small part I have underlined in this book (I’ve underlined a lot of it), from the chapter on God’s Sovereignty over People:
Confidence in God’s sovereignty in the lives of people should also keep us from becoming resentful and bitter when we are treated unjustly or maliciously by others. Bitterness usually stems not so much from the other person’s actions as from the effects of those actions on our lives ...
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Now God sometimes allows people to treat us unjustly. Sometimes He even allows their actions to seriously affect our careers or our futures viewed on a human plane. But God never allows people to make decisions about us that undermine His plan for us. God is for us, we are His children. He delights in us (see Zephaniah 3:17). And the Scripture says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). We can put this down as a bedrock truth: God will never allow any action against you that is not in accord with His will for you. And His will is always directed to our good.
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... God is sovereign over people. He will move their hearts to cause them to do His will, or He will restrain them from doing anything contrary to His will. But it is His will, His agenda for our lives that God will guard, protect, and advance. We must learn to live by His agenda if we are to trust Him.