Power

             

                In the late 17^th century, Pope Innocent X made a decree that Protestants and Catholics all over Europe ignored. Both parties disobeyed the pope and stripped him of his power. This was one of the first instances in history where both Protestants and Catholics demonstrated that a king’s power comes from the obedience of his subjects.

             God doesn’t operate in this way. Even if every person in the world denied His deity, He would still be God over all. His power isn’t contingent on who submits to Him. His power isn’t contingent on anything! His source of power is forever who He is.  

Even when I pray, “God, your will be done in my life and not my own”, I’m really recognizing that God –who has been seated on the throne since before the world began—is my master. Even through all my sin and rebellion, God has been seated on the throne.

Maybe a better way to pray would be: “God, I know your will will be done regardless of what my desire might be, but I submit to your will for my life no matter what that means.” Are we willing to pray today that God’s will be done in our lives no matter what? What if that means the loss of a loved one, cancer, a call to long-term mission, hunger, disease, financial difficulty, the loss of a job, or denial of desire? I know this is a better way to pray because it is the way Christ prayed to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane (Mt. 26:39), and it is the way Christ taught His disciples to pray (Mt. 6:10).

             

            May we recognize that God alone is on the throne; that He does whatever pleases him (Ps. 155:3), and may we humble ourselves at His feet as we realize that His power has nothing to do with us.