God's sovereignty Archives

The Lord is in His Holy Temple {No Matter What Monday}

March 18, 2019 by Marissa 3 Comments

This week we’re continuing in the book of Habakkuk, where we see a conversation between God and a suffering prophet. Habakkuk cried out to the Lord for help, and God told him that He would bring the Chaldeans to oppress the people of Judah. (This was not good news!) As the conversation continues, God tells Habakkuk that He will eventually bring justice and punishment to the wicked Chaldeans. There will be suffering and hardship, but deliverance will come (Habakkuk 2:5-19).

Then God speaks these words of comfort to Habakkuk:

“But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

When I first read these words, they didn’t strike me as greeting card material. I haven’t yet shared this verse in a “thinking of you” card. How can we find comfort in these words?

The Lord’s presence in His holy temple teaches us that He is ruling and reigning over all things. Psalm 11:4 says, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” He’s ruling from His throne, and He also sees us. He sees the sin of others that affects us. He sees our hurt. He sees our tears.

And since we live at this point in history, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s presence in His holy temple means even more. God the Son left the throne of heaven to dwell among us. Now His redeemed people have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us – now we are God’s temple. First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

God says in Habakkuk 2:20 that He is in His holy temple – and Scripture tells us that we are God’s temple. What does that mean? It means God is with us.

The words of this verse brings comfort to those who are in Christ because we know the Lord reigns from His throne and He resides with us in our suffering.

No matter what you face this week, the Lord is in His holy temple.

You Can Rest in God’s Sovereign Care {No Matter What Monday}

January 29, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

It was 4:15a.m., and I was having a pity party. I crawled under the covers that night without setting an alarm. I looked forward to getting the rest my mind and body craved after a long, busy week. But Samson had other plans for my early morning hours.

It doesn’t happen often (if it did, this devotional would include an advertisement for a free dog), but occasionally our dog decides he needs to go potty around 4 a.m. When Samson started pacing around our room and then scratching at the door, I was forced to abandon my hours of uninterrupted slumber and let him out.

I fumed as I got back in bed and worried that I wouldn’t get back to sleep. I wasn’t just angry at Samson—I was mad at God. “Don’t you know how tired I am, God? Don’t you know I needed sleep tonight?”

But then God’s Word flooded my mind, and I remembered that God is sovereign over all the details of my life—even dog’s bladders. He doesn’t withhold anything I need, and all that He allows is for my good. My anger subsided, and I eventually drifted off to sleep for a few more hours.

It’s one thing to find comfort in God’s sovereignty in the minor annoyances of life like a dog needing to potty in the middle of the night. But what about in the major hardships? Even in a cancer diagnosis, looming layoffs at work, or a difficult relationship, God’s sovereign care is an anchor we can cling to.

“Oh fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:9-10)

In His wisdom, God knows what we need. In His goodness, He desires to care for our needs. In His sovereignty, He is fully able to give us all that we need. We can trust Him to be the God on the throne who sees and knows and cares for each of His children. Those who are His lack no good thing.

No matter what you face this week, you can rest in God’s sovereign care.

(Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash)

The Lord is Sovereign Over Every Detail {No Matter What Monday}

January 22, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

By the time my daughter finished opening presents by the Christmas trees of various family members this year, she was thrilled to own several new beanie boos. If your home hasn’t been invaded by these tiny stuffed animals, let me fill you in on the craze. They are small stuffed animals with huge creepy eyes. The brilliant toy-makers have come up with an endless variety—cats, dogs, owls, tigers, and on and on. My daughter owns dozens of them, and each one is precious to her. She knows their names and celebrates all of their birthdays, which she finds printed on their tags. She loves them and cares for them because of their great value to her.

Do you know that you have great value to your sovereign heavenly Father? Jesus tells us so in Matthew 10:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:29-30)

Two for a penny—back in Jesus’ day, sparrows were the cheapest animal you could buy for your sacrifice. (I wish beanie boos were that inexpensive!) Even the poor could afford to buy one or two. And we read in Luke that if you paid two pennies, you could get five sparrows—they were of so little value that they’d throw in an extra for free.

And yet, these insignificant birds are of great value in the eyes of their Creator. Not one falls to the ground without His knowledge and involvement.

God’s care for us, His beloved children, goes beyond an awareness of whether we’re in a tree or on the ground. He knows each and every hair on our heads. God is concerned with and sovereign over even the smallest details of our lives.

Nothing touches one hair on your head before passing through the hands of your loving, faithful, sovereign heavenly Father.

No matter what you face this week, the Lord is sovereign over every detail of your days.

(Photo by Josh Adamski on Unsplash)

What If

October 19, 2011 by Marissa Leave a Comment

A year ago today, I was anxiously waiting for a biopsy that had been scheduled a few days later. It is emotional for me to look back at those days right before my cancer diagnosis on October 25, 2010. There is a temptation to dwell on it, as if I can somehow will it to turn out differently, to re-write history and get a phone call on that day that there was no cancer. By grace alone, I am taking those thoughts captive and refusing to stay stuck on the “what-ifs.”

But it is an interesting question: What would life look like today if it had been an infection like they originally thought? What if that phone call on October 25 had gone the other way? What if I had continued the antibiotic and gone on with my life?

What if I didn’t know just how much I truly have to be thankful for?

What if I didn’t understand the power of prayer and Scripture and the Holy Spirit to comfort you in the most dire of circumstances?

What if I didn’t realize how incredible my church family and friends are?

What if I was still driven by my to-do list and squeezing in quality time with my kids in between, instead of the other way around?

What if I didn’t know how many people love me and care about me?

What if I didn’t know to take time to make green slime and go for ice cream and say yes when they ask for just one more story?

What if I had never met our nanny or my Houston family or the oncology clinic staff or my cancer posse?

What if I was still oblivious to the needs of the sick and hurting in my community?

What if I weren’t committed to talking with my kids every day about God’s character and how we can trust Him?

I didn’t get to choose the outcome last October. And that is definitely for the best, because I know I would have picked the easy road and missed out on all the blessings God had in store with the trial. He planned each and every day for my good and His glory, and I am thankful. I was reminded this week of a Charles Spurgeon quote that I heard somewhere back in the chemo fog, and it resonates with my experience:

“There is no greater mercy that I know of on earth than good health except it be sickness; and that has often been a greater mercy to me than health. It is a good thing to be without a trouble; but it is a better thing to have a trouble, and know how to get grace enough to bear it.”

Thank you, Lord, for each and every mercy you give, and the grace to bear those that are difficult.Share

marissa.henley