Starts and Ends
The opened heavens, new earth below
light to fill the void, darkness set apart.
Carved from the dust, in Your image above,
friendship with God, an utmost delight.
How wondrous to think all that was made,
already formed in the Creator’s mind.
A lineage of scandal, how the story began,
the bloodline of Jesus, mapped in divine.
The birth of a Savior, a promise fulfilled,
His death and resurrection, a sealed covenant.
How wondrous to know that redeeming love,
already poured from the Father’s heart.
Along I came, a fragment of His design,
woven, known, forever sanctified.
With weary longing, my soul laments,
a saving grace to give me rest.
Found and cleaned and all restored,
at last, alive, in Jesus my Lord.
My life He carries, my heart He holds,
how fierce my belief in the Man on the cross!
At the Greenhouse Church last Sunday, Todd shared about God’s detailed sovereignty over history. We read the first chapter of Matthew, which focuses on the genealogy of Jesus. Much of this was quite familiar, but I was still struck by the scandal and cruelty that marked the lives of the people in Jesus’ ancestry, and yet, none of these incidents could jeopardize the sovereignty of God. It was not about the acts of evil or the hearts of men, but rather, about God—his established plan and His unconditional love. It also reveals the posture of his heart towards marginalized people, the all-embracing width of His love, and the immutability of His word. It had me also thinking about all the details of His design, His meticulous nature, His purposefulness, and His unmatched sovereignty. He governs all things—big and small.
“Nothing in the universe is random or without divine design and purpose. God’s sovereign control is complete, not partial. It governs every aspect of nature, history, and personal life,” John Piper writes. “Everything else finds its ground and its significance in God's purpose to create and do all acts of providence and all acts of redemption for his glory.” In another post, Piper notes, “God is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities…Nothing can successfully stop any act or any event or design or purpose that God intends to certainly bring about.” I just want to sit with this truth for as long as I can. It is marvelous. Leaves me in utter awe. I think about the tiny piece of my life in this magnificent master plan, the million unseen moments leading to this. That before all created things, this self-existing God was. Without origin, needing nothing. All-sufficient. All things above and below, every detail of creation, starts and ends with Him.
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” Proverbs 19:21
“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Psalms 33:11
Wondrous is the depth
of the Father’s love.
Unending is the reach
of His loving arms.
From the void of the earth
to its fullness here,
the sovereignty of the Lord
knows no end.
He reigns, He reigns,
my heart shall sing,
to the King of Kings
who knows my name.
