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LOOK UP! One of God's attributes that greatly encourages my heart over and over again is His absolute sovereignty. In fact, I never tire of meditating on situations in His Word that clearly reveal that He's "in control." Since it's one of God's major characteristics, and part of His very nature, we would expect to see His sovereignty throughout Scripture. And we do! Let me give just two examples. The account of Joseph is jampacked with it throughout (Gen. 37-50). When Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers, he tells them what was ever so obvious, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20). Yes, they sold Joseph into slavery. Yes, they deceived their dad into thinking that Joseph was dead. Yes, life was difficult for Joseph, for a time, in Egypt. However, in the end, Joseph knew beyond all doubt that God is the One who sent him to Egypt. Jumping ahead some 500 years brings us to Moses. How can anyone read the book of Exodus and NOT see the controlling hand and power of God? Even watching Charlton Heston, as Moses, in the 1956 film, "The Ten Commandments," would clue in the least religious person in the world to the fact that almighty God rules from His throne in glory! After being judged by God for unbelief and made to wander through the desert for 40 years, Moses tells Israel, "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years" (Deut. 8:3-4). Are you discouraged? Is life unfair? As with both Joseph and Moses, may we, too, recognize the obvious - God IS in control. He IS on His throne. And He deserves the fullness of our worship. May we, in awe, look up to Him each day!