God Is Sovereign!

Jeremiah 5:22,25: "'Should you not fear me?' declares the LORD. 'Should you not tremble in my presence? I have made the sand a boundary for the sea, and everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it . . . . Your wrongdoings have kept these away (autumn and spring rains); your sins have deprived you of good.'"

It is rather extraordinary to see humanity forsake its allegiance to the Lord. Whereas we know that God is Sovereign, in authority over all things and able to enact His divine judgments upon all recalcitrance, we still find ourselves striving for our own lordship. What is fascinating in this passage is the tangible example that is given by the Lord to illustrate His Sovereignty : the ocean and the beach.

The ocean is a rather impressive display of force and power; in fact, one only need to swim into the breaking waves to see its power. And of course when a great storm passes over the sea, its waters can churn into a rather intimidating sight. No one in his right mind would even get near the turbulent force of such a tempest.

In contrast, we find the sand of a beach to be rather docile, with its tiny grains noticeably lacking any energetic movement. Even though the waves roar and beat upon the shore, the sand continues to be a barrier that prohibits the water from moving wherever it would choose. A perceived invincibility has been checked and kept within certain boundaries, even though such restraints make little logical sense.

Such an analogy was good for the Israelites to hear, and we would do well to hear its message too. Whereas we may find ourselves thinking that we are powerful beings deserving of our own insatiable cravings, the Lord in fact sets boundaries for us to keep us mindful that He alone is Sovereign and is worship of worship. And if we ever conclude that we can transcend the Lord's will, we will find ourselves exerting a lot of energy in worthless pursuits, much like the waves of the ocean crashing on the shore . . . only to retreat back to it original place.

And we must remember that as the people of Israel lost the blessing of the rains that would have brought the blessed agricultural harvest, so too our wickedness will cause the Lord to withhold the blessings that He desires to give to us, if only we would follow Him with faithfulness and in obedience.

Let us not be like the waves that spend much energy to no avail. Let us exert our passions and energies to following the Lord. And let us watch as Our Sovereign King opens the portals of Heaven and showers upon us the blessed rains that bring the harvest of His favor.