“…the joy of the LORD is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10 ESV
The world is full of calamity and heartbreak. Everyday, we bump up against sorrow, tragedy, and sickness. It can seem as though our world spins out of control. Yet, we do not have to lose hope, nor sight of the many blessings and beauty filling our lives each day. In the verse above, Nehemiah repeats three times for the people of Israel not to mourn and grieve, but to rejoice!
“They had just understood the words that were declared to them,” verse 12 reads. When we understand and know God’s word, we are able to see life through the filter of who God is. “God not only leads but protects, accepting responsibly for His people,” Candice Lucey writes. When truth reigns and rules in our lives, we take solace and hope that God is in sovereign control over every area of our lives and our world. “Sometimes we need to hear specific statements from God himself about his own authority,” Pastor John Piper explains, “We need God’s own words. It is the very words of God that have unusual power to settle our nerves, and make us stable, wise, and courageous.”
What a Christian Needs to Know about God’s Control
God so loved us, He sent His one and only Son to earth to die for us (John 3:16). It was God’s plan all along. Paul wrote to the Romans, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:16) Mercy is part of God’s character. Just as he is faithful, holy, just, and sovereign, He is merciful. “Mercy, like grace, stands over against human worth and effort whenever salvation is concerned,” the Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains. “It is free, because God is not bound to show mercy to any.”
God forms us in the womb. He knows us and His purpose for us. Everything He does and allows is meant to draw us to Him. He wants a relationship with us, and made a way, through Christ, for that to happen, despite our sinful curse. “Salvation depends not on human will or exertion, but on God,” Pastor John Piper explains, “who has mercy.”
Timothy wrote that all Scripture was God-breathed. His Word is alive and active in our lives. When we open up the pages of our Bibles, we open access to the very wisdom and instruction of God. We do not exist out of coincidence but for the purpose in which God put in us to bring glory to Him. The prophecies of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled were detailed! John wrote of Jesus’ crucifixion, “For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled – ‘Not one of his bones will be broken’” (John 19:36 NIV). God is in control. Our joy is in the Lord. “The joy of the LORD would sustain them,” the Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains of Nehemiah 8:10.
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40 God Is in Control Verses
Deuteronomy 31:8 – The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD you God will be with you wherever you go.
1 Samuel 2:6-7 – The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
Job 34:18-19 – Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
Job 34:24 – Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in their place.
Job 42:2 – “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Psalm 2:8 – Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
Psalm 23:2-3 – He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Psalm 31:15 – My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.
Psalm 33:10 – The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 125:2 – As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.
Psalm 135:6 – The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.
Proverbs 16:33 – The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Proverbs 21:1 – In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.
Proverbs 21:30 – There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.
Isaiah 14:24-25 – The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
Isaiah 43:13 – Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?
Isaiah 45:3 – I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Isaiah 46:9-10 – Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, another is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 31:33 – “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be there God, and they will be my people.”
Daniel 2:20-21 – “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
Matthew 28:18 – Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Luke 1:33 – and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
Luke 1:51-52 – He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 17:2 – For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given to him.
John 19:11 – Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Romans 13:1 – Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
1 Corinthians 15:27 – For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.
Ephesians 1:11 – In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
Ephesians 1:19-22 – That power is the same might strength he exerted when he raised Christ form the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Philippians 2:13 – for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 2:6 – And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
1 Timothy 2:4 – who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Hebrews 2:10 – In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.
1 Peter 3:22 – who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
2 Peter 3:8-9 – But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Sources:
Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition) – New Testament. Copyright 2004.
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Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.
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