Sovereign Defined

Daily Gratitude Year 5-Day 298: Today, I am grateful for a window into sovereignty. 

Sovereign defined: possessing supreme or ultimate power

What do I know of sovereign?

I must confess... I enjoy a little royal watching.  I was a young mom when Princess Diana died. Chase had just turned 5 and Walker wasn't even one-year-old at the time.  I felt such sorrow for those boys who had lived through so much, even before their mother died. Two little boys with no mommy to hold them when they wept. 

Part of my grief for them, was the sense that they had lost the only parent who would put her foot down when being royal was too much to bear. She understood the weight of the responsibility, not born, but married into the family. She could be fierce for her boys... and fun. 

For those who wear and embrace the crown, I am a bit awed by their commitment to upholding what it means to be born to that position. It isn't always easy and comes with a price.They do what they must and what is considered right, sometimes at a high personal cost to their privacy and the deepest desires of their heart. 

Being sovereign means the responsibility goes beyond our own agendas, wishes and desires. That is why it is God on the throne... and not us. Learning to embrace sovereignty is wonderful when we are richly blessed in so many ways, but there are times, that being His means coming face to face with "not what I hoped for, but thy will be done." Those are powerful, although painful, times of growth. The crazy thing, is that if we live long enough... we realize that his hand was never lifted from our mortal care. He is always present. Always there. But, each one of us is not a only child. And, he is always God. 

How do we enter his presence? 

"Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." -Ephesians 5:19-20

How do we submit to his sovereignty? Jesus answered that one when he taught us to pray in this way: 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, -Matthew 6:9-10

We submit to a sovereign Lord. I loved this image from wethreekingsillustrated.com  

"Not my way, but Yehweh."  Thy will be done. To offer that part of the prayer in praise and full submission is to drawer nearer to the heart of the living, moving, God of the Universe. 

Today, I am grateful for a window into sovereignty.