God is Sovereign, i am nothing

I realize it is a well-worn cliché, but March 21, 1998 was the first day of the rest of my life. The clock struck twelve-thirty on the dawn of a new day, and I didn’t know it at the time, but the second stage of my journey on planet earth had just begun. Much like the experience of the Old Testament character Job, my family and I experienced a major crisis that shook our world, without any foreknowledge or forewarning. One minute I am nestled in my bed yakking on the phone with a girlfriend, the next minute I am having a near-death experience. That crisis, and the sequence of events that followed, gave me a new revelation of who God is and who I am not. It is that experience that provides the fuel for this book. At a time when so much of our resources—time, money, and energy—are spent on discovering and developing “the self,” declaring that “God is sovereign; i am nothing,” may seem a bit out of sync with “modern Christianity.” Understand, I am in no way opposed to having a better understanding of one’s self or learning how to increase one’s “market value,” but I am convinced more than ever before that an authentic understanding of self must always be seen in light of the awesomeness of God’s sovereignty. My desire is that as you read this book, you will see how God’s sovereignty and my nothingness were always present but never conflicting during this experience. The great theologian, A.W. Tozer, gives an endearing description of God’s sovereignty: An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool. Its destination has been determined by proper authorities. Nothing can change it. On board the liner are several scores of passengers. These are not in chains, neither are their activities determined for them by decree. They are completely free to move about as they will. They eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please; but all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port. Both freedom and sovereignty are present here and they do not contradict each other. So it is, I believe, with man’s freedom and the sovereignty of God. The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history. God moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal purposes which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began. We do not know all that is included in those purposes, but enough has been disclosed to furnish us with a broad outline of things to come and to give us good hope and firm assurance of future well-being.