The Sovereign God


1 Samuel 2:1- 11
1 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 “There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world.
9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.”
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

There are a few passages in the Bible where the sovereignty of God is espoused in a dramatic fashion. These passages almost always come in a time when there has been danger, disaster, sorrow, stress, or reason for fear. The reading for today is one of those passages. (For other examples see Job 38-42, Exodus 15, Luke 1:46-55.) Hannah has sorrowed over her childlessness and been tormented by Peninnah. But when God brings relief, He brings joy; pure, unadulterated joy. And that joy must be expressed in words of praise and worship.

[On a pure aside, I want to point on that in this song of praise, Hannah is wonderfully honest about her emotions - again. She mentions her enemies and leaves them firmly in God's hands. Good choice, Hannah. The Bible is filled with real people who when through real stuff.]

In 2011 we can see a great many wondrous things just by looking around us. Mankind has been allowed to create some pretty fantastic things along the way. I am still amazed that I can see live what is happening thousands of miles from where I live via the internet or TV. Men have walked on the moon and there is now a spacecraft on Mars. We have left footprints in amazing places. We have looked into the atom, DNA, and the smallest cells, only to be amazed at the complexity we find there. And sometimes, because of all of these modern achievements, we are a little jaded. We are hard to amaze or astound. And that is too bad, because God is still more amazing and more astounding than anything we can come up with on our own.

Hannah knew this fact. She looked upon God and saw Someone who would hear the cries of lone female in pain. She saw the miracle of birth from a body that had previously been barren. She recognized the miracle worker and gave Him the credit. Perhaps we would do well to follow her example and look at that same miracle worker, giving Him the credit, the praise and worship He deserves.

What about your life seems fairly miraculous? If you cannot think of anything, you aren’t looking closely enough. Every single one of us can point to God and declare Him sovereign because we can see Him at work in our lives. And if your own life doesn’t pull up any images or memories for you credit Him with, look at a flower or a baby. Examine a bug or pet your dog. Marvel at how the whole earth seems to work together with such unity and perfection. Every single organism on the planet points to a sovereign, all caring, and marvelous God who deals miraculously with the details of your life. It’s all pretty cool.

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