Sovereignty

Yesterday, just as I was waking up, I briefly closed my eyes only to see a vision of my daughter, Abigail, coming into my bedroom and handing me a white paper lunch bag with a couple of party ribbons on it along with a note taped onto the front. The note read, "Congratulations, Brian. It's Sovereignty Week." Then it was over.

For the past two days I have been trying to understand what it meant. 

About 15 years ago I was at a church in Garden City, Idaho, right next to Boise. I had gone to the front to receive some ministry. A man began to pray for me and he told me that the word "sovereignty" would be very important in my life.

Also for a number of years, I have come to see the rising river in Ezekiel 47 as representative of various stages in a persons life. The "ankle stage" relating to a time of refreshing, the "knee stage" a call to prayer, the "loin stage" as a season of fruitfulness and the "could not be crossed stage" as a time when the sovereignty of God takes over a person's life.

I don't know why it would be Abby bringing me the bag.  She is my firstborn.  Maybe she will be the one that helps me interpret some of God's dealings in my life.  I do not know what was in the paper bag, but I have to assume that it was something to do with my destiny in the future. The issue at hand however is my willingness to take the bag regardless of what is inside. That is part of what it means to come under the Lord's sovereignty. It means to say yes before we know what is in the bag.

Since He is in charge, will there be any risk? Of course. Every situation always presents a challenge and a choice. We do not have to respond to divinely orchestrated events. We can ignore them or complain about them. We may find them to be very inconvenient. But for sure there will always be something important to God wherever He guides our steps. I asked the Lord about sovereignty and this is what I journaled.

The season of sovereignty is an unprecedented opportunity for fruitfulness and fulfillment. I will never carry you to places that will yield nothing. I will place you in places that will shift the plates of the earth. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and productive. But at the same time these opportunities may not look like anything important. But do not concern yourself with appearances or what you hope to gain from it. These issues are but distractions. I have purposes in everything. So go and embrace the places I send you.

I am being asked if I want to belong to God and give Him permission to do anything He sovereignly chooses for my life. The answer is yes.

Take me away, River of God.