The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
In a Gahan Wilson cartoon, a king grumpily admits that he cannot stop the sun from setting. “Go ahead then, set!”, he grunts. The cartoonist may not have realized that this cartoon was a commentary on Proverbs 21:1. The world is ruled by God and the governors he has appointed for us and we are to obey them insofar as it does not violate God’s plan. This sounds like God directs the king to do what is right and good. Any student of history or current events will see the nonsense in that thought. The proverb tells us that no one, not even a king, can thwart God’s plan. Even the most powerful people on earth are powerless vessels in his hand. Therefore, whatever happens today is a part of God’s plan, including the actions of our leaders. As Douglas Kelly says, he uses sin sinlessly.
Many opponents of the idea of a Sovereign God would point to our need for free will. Well. God is not an idea, John Lennox said recently, he is a person! We have free will to sin and attempt to ruin God’s plan of redemption and restoration. The problem is that our will is destined to fail before the perfect plan of our Lord and Master. Today, allow our heart to be a stream of water in his hand. May we not try to govern the universe ourselves through our will but surrender to his will today.
Dear Lord, thank you for your control over all of creation. Help us to submit to the goodness of your plan and enjoy your sovereignty forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church