Day 13: God Is Sovereign, None Can Stay His Hand

Scripture

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” Psalm 115:3 ESV

“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” Daniel 4:35 ESV

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” Ephesians 1:11 ESV

Confessional Summary
The Reformed churches confessed God’s sovereignty as a settled truth, not a debate topic. The Belgic Confession teaches that this good God “governs and directs” all things according to His holy will, so that “nothing happens in this world without his appointment.” Yet it immediately denies the slander that follows, insisting God “neither is the author of, nor can be charged with, the sins which are committed” (Belgic Confession 13). God’s rule is real, and His holiness is intact.

Heidelberg brings this doctrine into daily life by describing providence, not as something different from sovereignty, but as the way the sovereign God exercises His rule within creation. It defines providence as God’s “almighty and everywhere present power,” by which He “upholds” and “governs” all creatures. It teaches that “all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand” (Heidelberg Catechism 27). Then it draws the fruit God intends, patience in adversity, gratitude in prosperity, and a settled confidence for what lies ahead (Heidelberg Catechism 28).

The Canons of Dort press the same sovereignty into salvation itself, confessing election as the “unchangeable purpose of God” in Christ, not grounded in human worth or foresight, but in sheer grace, so that the believer’s hope rests on God’s steadfast will, not the instability of his own (Canons of Dort I, 7).

The Reformers believed Scripture teaches God truly reigns over all things. Nothing is aimless. Your sin remains your responsibility. But Your salvation is secure because God’s saving purpose in Christ does not fail.

Reflection


Daniel 4 is a humiliation story with teeth. The king who thought he ran the world learns that he cannot even keep his sanity unless God grants it. When Nebuchadnezzar finally speaks truly, he does not offer a life lesson. He confesses a throne. God does according to His will, and none can stay His hand.

That cuts against the modern instinct to negotiate with God as if He were one competing power inside the universe. He is not inside the system. He rules it. Psalm 115 does not picture a deity reacting to events. It says God does what He pleases. Ephesians 1 does not describe God improvising. It says He works all things according to the counsel of His will.

This doctrine does not make you careless. It makes you steady. It does not cancel action. It purifies action of panic. You can labor without acting like everything depends on you, because it does not. You can pray without treating prayer as a last resort, because God appoints means as well as ends. You can repent without despair, because the Lord who rules history is the Lord who saves sinners on purpose.

Application


Name one area where you have been demanding a guarantee from God before you will obey. Repent of that bargain. Then take one concrete step of obedience that is already clear in Scripture, and entrust what you cannot control to the King who cannot be overruled.

Prayer

Sovereign Lord, You rule over all things with wisdom I cannot measure. Forgive my pride that wants to judge Your ways. Teach me to obey without conditions, to pray with confidence, and to rest in Your rule when I cannot see what You are doing. Through Christ. Amen.