Lord of All - Including Me

Saturday - May 7th

Scripture to Read Today: 2 Samuel 7:18-24

Adonai: "Master" or "Lord" over everything - including the lives of His followers

The Names and Attributes of God

---

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:1-2

"God is God, and I am not."

That simple statement boils down most of my struggles, battles, and issues in life.

God created everything. Nothing was made without God.

Since God made and sustains everything that exists - including me - He has complete sovereignty over everything and everyone. He is in charge. He is Lord over all.

One of the Hebrew names for God is "Adonai." It simply means Supreme Lord or Master. The struggle for me with the reality that our God is "Adonai" is an issue of faith and trust. Who do I trust more, God or me?

If He is Lord over everything, if He is the one Who keeps my heart pumping, if He is the one who has determined the beginning and the end of all things, why would I trust myself over Him? My judgments are flawed. His are not. My perception of reality is skewed. His is not. My understanding of what is best in my life is blurry at best. His understanding of what is best for my life is crystal clear.

Why then do I struggle to let God be God?

It boils down to whether or not I believe He is Who He claims to be and whether or not that claim has any bearing on my life.

King David came to a critical crossroads in his life after he had secured the sacred Ark of the Covenant from his enemies. The Ark represented the presence of God with His people - Israel. It was the centerpiece of all of the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. The place where God met His people. After David secured the Ark, He asked God to allow Him to build a permanent Temple in Jerusalem in which the Ark, thus God's presence, would dwell.

God's message to David contains much of the critical covenant God made with David. In the Davidic Covenant, God promised David that his kingdom would never end. His royal successors would be from his lineage. He promised David that one would come and sit on David's throne and be the King of Israel forever. The covenant included essential aspects of prophecy yet to be fulfilled in our day.

God also told David that it would be David’s son, and not David himself, who would build God's permanent dwelling place in Israel. While this may have been a disappointment to David, he entered into the covenant with God. He celebrated the promise of his royal lineage and his kingdom never ending.

In 2 Samuel 7:18-24, David responds to God by declaring that God is Adonai - translated as "Sovereign Lord" in the English text. He uses the name Adonai five times in these seven verses. David clearly knows Who God is and submits himself entirely to God as Lord of his life.

After sensing the incredible mercy and grace of God on his life, David surrenders himself to the Lordship of God. Paul responds the same way in the Book of Romans. After rehearsing the mercy and grace of God in the first eleven chapters, Paul begins chapter twelve by saying that based on Who God is in His mercy, we should submit ourselves to God. We should become a living sacrifice to the Lord. Surrendering our wants to the will of God.

The more we understand the vastness and yet the love of our God, the more we submit ourselves to His claims on our lives. Like David, the more we see His personal love and care for us, the more we surrender every area of our lives to His Lordship.

For me, the more I understand He is Lord over everything, including me, the more natural it becomes to surrender myself to Him. I find myself living with the truth that He is God, and I am not.

Many Christians find their lives unsatisfying, always disturbed, never at peace merely because they still try to be God over their lives. They push back at the notion that God knows what He is doing and cares about them. They cannot see the mercy and grace of God in their lives, so they refuse to surrender to Him. Or, at least they fail to offer all to Him. They hold back areas they want to be Lord over, even though they cannot be.

What are you holding back? What do you refuse to let go of in your life?

As David came to grasp the Lordship of our God, so must I. God is God, and I am not. And that is a very good thing.

When you truly see God as Adonai, you fully surrender all that you are, all that you do, and all that you have to Him!