The Lord Reigns

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”

1 Chronicles 16:31

Five times the Bible declares, “The Lord reigns!” When we really believe that, our thinking changes about every situation in life. Take the way people treat us, for example. It’s easy to fly off the handle, harbor bitterness, and let resentment eat away at our souls. Humanly speaking, such reactions may seem justified, for people can do terrible things to us.

But when we recognize the absolute rule of God over even the smallest matters, we can trust Him to use even those injuries for glorious good. Think of Joseph, who forgave his brothers for their horrible mistreatment (Genesis 45). He understood they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:19-20).

Think of the hymnist Fanny Crosby. Once, when asked about the doctor who may have caused her blindness in infancy, she said, “If I could meet him, I would tell him that he unwittingly did me the greatest favor in the world. . . . How in the world could I have lived such a helpful life as I have lived had I not been blind?”

Because God reigns, we can forgive others and trust Him with the hurts.

The sin of unforgiveness is a cancer that destroys relationships, eats away at one’s own psyche, and, worst of all, shuts us off from God’s grace.

ROBERTSON MCQUILKIN