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THE BIG PICTURE
This is the first verse in the Bible. Note the emphasis: “In the beginning God.” Everything begins and ends with our creator God. All of human history and all of the future of the human race is about God and his story. It begins and ends with him.
We can easily forget this truth as we live day-to-day. Confident — and let’s face it, sometimes proud — of the power and influence of our decisions, we can think we control our own destiny and can know what will happen in the future. We can forget we are finite, limited, mortal. Only God is sovereign. He alone oversees all human events.
A group of men is playing a game of poker in a restaurant back room. As one man looks at his cards, he knows he has an unbeatable hand and will be a rich man when he lays down those cards and wins the huge pot in the center of the table. Unknown to that man, however, a fighter pilot in training has just ejected from his plane, and the plane is hurtling toward that restaurant. The man will not even get to play the hand.
Like the poker player, we have the illusion of control. But our knowledge is limited, narrow. Only God has the larger perspective; only God is in control. We don’t see all the scenarios; we don’t understand all the factors; we don’t know all the facts.
Just as in Genesis 1, true life begins when we humbly acknowledge God’s sovereign place in the world and in our lives.
Creator God, Sovereign Lord, I humbly submit myself to you . . .
This is the first verse in the Bible. Note the emphasis: “In the beginning God.” Everything begins and ends with our creator God. All of human history and all of the future of the human race is about God and his story. It begins and ends with him.
We can easily forget this truth as we live day-to-day. Confident — and let’s face it, sometimes proud — of the power and influence of our decisions, we can think we control our own destiny and can know what will happen in the future. We can forget we are finite, limited, mortal. Only God is sovereign. He alone oversees all human events.
A group of men is playing a game of poker in a restaurant back room. As one man looks at his cards, he knows he has an unbeatable hand and will be a rich man when he lays down those cards and wins the huge pot in the center of the table. Unknown to that man, however, a fighter pilot in training has just ejected from his plane, and the plane is hurtling toward that restaurant. The man will not even get to play the hand.
Like the poker player, we have the illusion of control. But our knowledge is limited, narrow. Only God has the larger perspective; only God is in control. We don’t see all the scenarios; we don’t understand all the factors; we don’t know all the facts.
Just as in Genesis 1, true life begins when we humbly acknowledge God’s sovereign place in the world and in our lives.
Creator God, Sovereign Lord, I humbly submit myself to you . . .
Scripture
About this Plan
This is a 21 day extract of the Once-A-Day Devotional for Men for everyday inspiration, with 365 daily readings created specifically for men. Using devotions from Livingstone, the group who produced the Life Application Study Bible, these daily devotions will open your eyes to everything God wants you to be as his son, and guide and encourage you for an entire year.
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We would like to thank Zondervan for providing this devotional. For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/OnceADayBible
