Over All

My Bible Orientation Sunday School class is both difficult and delightful. The class continues to grow in numbers, age span and biblical literacy in what seems a shrinking space. The day we hit 14 students ages 7-12, 11 boys and 3 girls, frustration ran high. There was not enough room for 14 Bibles and worksheets on our 2 tables. We are on a concrete floor and every scrape of shifting chairs ratcheted up my consternation. To top off the bedlam, my most challenging student, I’ll call him Colin, exhibited his anxiety through continuous bloops and bleeps. His dedicated assistant could not mollify his distress. I was losing the attention of the other students, but muscled on. 

And then it happened. A younger student with a nearly inaudible voice was reading aloud when he was stumped by the word “sovereign”. It was clear that “sovereign” needed an explanation. I asked, “Does anybody know what the word ‘sovereign’ means?” Colin closed his mouth and shot up his hand. Everything stopped. Silence.

I asked, “Colin, do you know what that word means?” His reply was confident and clear, “Over all!” Yes! My tension evaporated. Colin’s succinct and accurate definition reminded me that the Sovereign Lord was “over all” the chaos. We were blessed with 15 seconds of peace and then chaos resumed, but my heart was content: God is sovereign!