El Elyon
El Elyon is one of the many Hebrew names for God. The English definition of this word means 'Most High'. It is a name that signifies God as sovereign over all the universe, which includes you and me and every detail of our own lives- all the mini earths that revolve around our own heads. We all would like to think that the earth revolves around us huh?!? Well even in the minuteness of that statement, the utter fallacy of it- God does have the whole world in His hands, the whole universe in His hands right down to every aspect of our lives in His brawny tender hands. There is nothing minute or false about that statement! God is sovereign. God is El Elyon.
I can be the first to say that I have been most skeptical and hesitant in believing in this quality of God's character. For me, the sovereignty of God is the most difficult part to grasp of His personality. In one sense, it simplifies everything more than any of His other traits. But on the other hand, to me, it also complicates everything more than any of His other characteristics.
It became the most difficult for me to comprehend the sovereignty of God after AJ was killed. I needed to cling to God and wanted to cling to God. It was much easier to do this if I separated God from that awful event. It was easier to have Him completely separate from it because then He could really be a refuge and an escape for me. But God should not be merely an escape for us from our reality and from life.
God is rightfully a strong tower but it goes beyond that- He wants to redeem us and be glorified in and through the challenges and pain we face. He can't do that if we compartmentalize Him. He longs to share our pain and to do that we need to bring that pain to Him. The fellowship of sharing in His sufferings goes both ways.
He is El Elyon, the God of all. Which means He was sovereign God of all on December 22, 2002 when AJ and I were married... and He was still over all, nothing changed, on October 31, 2004 when we were in the accident. This concept was the biggest obstacle in my way, hindering my complete trust: the concept of seeing that God is sovereign, that He is the God of all- good and bad; light and darkness; well-being and calamity.
Many people came up to me in the months shortly after the accident and told me, (as if they were trying to comfort me!), that: 'God is sovereign'. To me it soundly like pious religious jargon which only invoked greater anger in me. I had to use restraint to keep from slapping them silly across the face! The phrase, 'God is sovereign', which is supposed to evoke security and peace, did anything but that for me during my darkest hour. It was odd- God was my strength, my hope, my absolute source of peace and my refuge but I didn't want to view Him as sovereign. I wanted to limit Him to my own terms and conditions. Thankfully God couldn't be contained in my box. Thankfully He can't be contained in any box!!!
Why was the sovereignty of God so hard for me to conceive? It showed me that God was over all that night of the accident and yet allowed it to happen, knew it would happen but still did not intervene. This was a very hard reality for me to accept.
I use the word 'reality' here because it is a reality. God IS sovereign and He was in control on October 31, 2004. He didn't suddenly decide to take a break and eat a Kit Kat bar. He is El Elyon and that never changes.
Job and Joseph each provide us with good biblical examples of God being sovereign over suffering. They both suffered greatly. Their lives both were at points where they seemed to have completely failed, but we know the whole story. God never once relinquished His authority or control in either of their lives. Moment by moment He was working all things together for them according to His will. He was redeeming and shaping and crafting everything together for His good pleasure and glory, and beyond that even, in His goodness He was doing it in a way that in the end produced joy and blessing for Job and Joseph as well. What Satan intended for destruction God used for construction.
God never is out of control. Even Satan can do nothing apart from God or out of His authority. Rather, Satan had to ask permission (Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-10) to even touch Job or anything that belonged to him. God was in complete control of the situation, even in complete control of Satan. Any power Satan had was still restrained under the finger of God. God is the firm authority- no ifs, ands or hineys!
Job says in 2:10, "Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" God is sovereign and chooses to build up and tear down, to bless and to curse, to commend and to reprimand. He is the God of all. He is the God of laughter and tears, rejoicing and mourning, dancing and weeping.
God is sovereign over the good and bad times. He is in them both. He is in the midst of the darkness although He himself is surrounded by light. God creates light and creates darkness. Even when it seems so dark that we can not see Him or feel the warmth of His light it does not mean for one second that He is not there. He has promised in His word (Deuteronomy 31:8) to never leave us, never fail us and never forsake us.
Even when it is dark- He is still there. He is always there, always faithful, whether we know it, see it, believe it, feel it or not. Isaiah 45:7, "I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends the good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things."
For me, the darkness was so dark I could not see this hard reality of who God is. I was stuck on the Sunday school image of the gentle shepherd, meek and mild with a smile on His face going around and hugging everyone. But I am not ever content to sit back and not figure something out. When I know in my head what I should believe about God but can't get my heart to agree is when I know I need the Holy Spirit the most! I knew many people were comforted by the sovereignty of God and I was determined to figure out why they were comforted by this and whether it was even accurate or not.
I know the bible quite clearly sets out that God is sovereign, so I began searching and praying to see my God as sovereign. I desired to know El Elyon- Sovereign God. Comprehending this would require a change in my heart. Romans 2:29 says, "...a change of heart is produced by God's spirit." I knew the only way my heart could be softened and changed was by God's Spirit and only if I allowed Him to come in power and work in my heart. So again, I did as I have had to do often in this season- I surrendered.
Slowly the anxiety and frustration I felt at the thought of God being sovereign has been replaced with the rightful peace and security that knowing and trusting a sovereign God provides. I can proudly declare with authority now that God is sovereign. I can call Him by name, El Elyon. Trusting His goodness makes trusting His sovereignty possible. Relying on His absolute and unconditional love makes knowing Him as 'God of ALL' feasible.
Psalm 20:7, "Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God."
We are all going to boast in something. The choice is ours as to what that something will be. It is hard to boast in the name of a God you do not know, believe, see or trust. Apart from His Spirit empowering me, it was impossible for me to boast in El Elyon- the name of God as 'Sovereign'. But now, as I proudly declare that my God is El Elyon- I am no longer putting my trust in anything else but the God of all; the Most High; the God that has the whole universe in His hands and in His control. By His grace I can now boast in El Elyon- hear me roar!!!
It is not that we so much need to understand the sovereignty of God. If that is your aim you will always be left lacking for what you seek you will never find. We should simply seek to know El Elyon and to trust Him as sovereign. He is not a God who is heartlessly lording over us. Rather, He is a God who is lovingly working through us, despite us and our fallen nature and human limitations, redeeming to bring about His perfect and pleasing will.
Take to heart and be comforted by the bold truth of Romans 8:28, "We know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to HIS purposes for them." God has a purpose for each of us and He is in the process of bringing about His specific purpose in each of our lives right down to the very last detail.
God is a God of details. He is a God who loves us more than we will ever be able to comprehend. Rest in that truth and know He is sovereign. I have not found comfort in the sovereignty of God by any self effort or earthly wisdom. Only in surrender am I able to rest in the sovereignty of God. Only as I trust that He truly IS love and as I hold to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 firmly- with the cross and sufferings of Christ boldly- can I see that God is sovereign and He is good.
To onlookers the cross of Christ must have seemed like a complete failure. To the person looking upon Christ in that moment they would have assumed that he and his ministry must have failed if it was forced to end in such a humiliating way. From our earthly perspective His death was disgraceful. He died a failure's death were it not for God's perfect redemptive plan. Christ couldn't have been more perfectly in the will of God. God was sovereign on Good Friday. He was in control and His will was done. As a result of Christ's selfless loving obedience and God's sovereign plan we are all able to live in the fullness of why that Friday was so good. The unjustified death and disgrace of One was able to redeem and liberate many. Proof that God's ways are higher than our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Because of that Friday we can know God and we are made right before Him. We have the assurance of spending all of eternity with Him and in His presence. We can boldly bear Christ's authority since His blood has been poured out all over us. We can do wonders in His name and live a life of victory in His strength- all because of the cross. All because of that terribly good Friday, an evil dark day...redeemed.
On Page 86 of C.S. Lewis' book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy is discovering for the first time that Aslan (the King of Beasts, symbolizing God) is a lion and not a man. Nervous about meeting him she says: "Then he isn't safe?" "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
God never promises to be safe. But He is always good. We might not see His goodness at the moment or even any potential future goodness but it is there! He is always good. He never changes from day to day or moment to moment. Even though our circumstances might change, God will never change- He will always be faithful, He will always be good, and He will always love us. He will never leave us, He will never forsake us, He will never fail us.
{It is only when we are attempting to use God as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort for our own plans that we feel let down by Him and disappointed. When He doesn't meet our expectations because they don't line up with His expectations is when we feel disappointed in Him. But this is not God's doing. This is NOT Him failing us but rather us failing ourselves and failing Him.
It is impossible to worship and serve the God of Disappointment, which is how we will inevitably view Him as we set up in our minds what we think God ought or ought not to do. But I assure you that God has never been known to disappoint anyone who is sincerely wanting to be in His will and co-operate with His purposes. We have to accept the Scheme of Things as it is, and if we must blame someone it is surely fairer to blame Man who has chosen wrongly and produced a crazy disappointing world.} (Paraphrased from: Your God is Too Small, by J.B. Phillips, page 48-49.)
There is much more to say about the sovereignty of God, much to say about His sovereign strength. In my next blog I want to focus on what we can learn of El Elyon from the book of Daniel. I want to encourage and build up faith in the Sovereign God for through that we can cease boasting in our wimpy little chariots and boldly boast in the powerful name of the Lord our God, El Elyon.
posted by Kellie # 10:56 PM
