Rise to the Occasion
I think we can learn a whole lot about God’s sovereignty by getting up just like the sun and rising to the occasion called life.
This morning, I woke up to watch the sunrise and I thought to myself, “What if it’s cloudy?” “What if I can’t see the sun?” “Is waking up at 5:30 AM worth it?”
As I was driving to Payne’s Prarie in Gainesville, The Lord put a sweet thought into my mind (I voice recorded it, so I could write about it later) and it was something like this: If God is sovereign, then He is in the midst of everything. It doesn’t mean He is only in the clear skies and vibrant sunrises. It means He is ALSO in the midst of the clouds and uncertainty.
Psalm 24:1-2 says, "The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.” This means that He is God over all, in any circumstance, God in the midst of the storms, God over the morning fog, and God over our lives.
He doesn’t command the sun to stay down because it is going to be a cloudy day and we won’t be able to see it clearly. In the same sense, we shouldn’t stop walking when life becomes unclear or uncertain. “For we walk by faith, not by sight,” 2 Corinthians 5:7.
These thoughts and reflections brought me to realize that this is exactly how I have been feeling about the next season of my life. I am about to walk into a season with lots of uncertainty and lots of “What Ifs?”
The thought of graduating in less than a year brings me a good deal of anxiety about what the future holds. I do not know where I will be a year from now because my scores on the GRE will determine where I get accepted for graduate school. Where will I get a job? Do I want to stay in Florida? What if I am making the wrong decision by graduating a year early?
What if this…what if that…
I can walk on and rest assured because the God I know and love is ABOVE all my uncertainty and “what ifs,” and He is above yours too!!
We just have to remember that He is sovereign over our lives. Some days might be cloudy and unclear and other’s will be crystal-clear and make so much sense.
All I know is, He has a plan over my life and is directing my steps in such a way. I am confident that whatever He has planned for me is going to be beautiful and perfect because the Author and Creator of my story does not make mistakes.
I declare that in Jesus’ Name!!
I just want to encourage anyone reading this who might feel discouraged, confused or uncertain.
It’s in the still moments of silence and confusion that we get the sweet opportunity to rely on His promises and sovereignty. So, get up and rise to the occasion—trust that He is a good Father with a wonderful plan for your life. He is always present… In the waiting, in the uncertainty, and in the confusion.
Always.
Do you need to hear it one more time?
Always.
So get up for that sunrise…just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not rising.
The same goes for you and I.
“There are no limits to God’s rule. This is part of what it means to be God. He is sovereign over the whole world, and everything that happens in it. He is never helpless, never frustrated, never at a loss. And in Christ, God’s awesome, sovereign providence is the place we feel most reverent, most secure, most free.”
I love this quote from desiringgod.org because I think it beautifully describes His sovereignty—something so amazing, that our minds have trouble making sense of it.
We may not be able to see ourselves growing in a season of waiting and uncertainty. We may not know where we are headed because fog is blocking the future, but I can assure you of one thing: He is still sovereign.
“for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” Isaiah 46:9-10
And perhaps it’s a blessing to not know what the future might hold, because if we did, we wouldn’t need to depend on an Almighty God to lead the way.
xoxo, Brooke
Oh, and by the way…LOOK AT THIS SUNRISE!!! God really outdid Himself with this one. Secretly, I think He was like, “why did you doubt??" Instead of a cloudy morning, He gave me and all of Creation a clear picture of His raw beauty, His goodness, and His faithfulness.
