The sovereignty of God has often been misunderstood and as a result many have branded God as being unfair. When we say God is sovereign, we mean that He has the highest authority in the universe, and nothing happens unless God allows it. Since God is sovereign, it is critical that we understand that nothing happens to us unless God allows it. And since (Romans 8:28) tells us: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose,” we can be certain that as Christians God will never allow anything to happen to us unless it is for our good.
In God’s sovereignty He has complete understanding of everything that will happen to us even before we are born. David clearly declared this in (Psalm 139:16): “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” In God’s sovereignty, He has clearly ordained the day of our birth and the day of our death.
In God’s economy He is even sovereign over the disabilities that many people are born with. We clearly see God taking responsibility in this area when He tells Moses: “The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?’” (Exodus 4:11).
We also see that God is sovereign over who becomes pregnant. There are many verses that clearly show this. We read in (Genesis 29:31): “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.” And again in (Judges 13:3): “The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, ‘You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.’”
We also know that God puts leaders in power and disposes them at His bidding. Two verses that show this are (Daniel 2:21): “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings…” And in the New Testament we read: “Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?’ Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above…’” (John 19:10-11).
In addition, we know that God allows suffering in His sovereignty for a greater good. We see this in the case of all the suffering that Joseph had to go through. When his brothers sold him into slavery little did they know that this was all part of God’s sovereign plan to have Joseph appear before Pharoah, interpret his dreams, and later become his prime minister. As a result, he was able to save millions from starvation. (Genesis 50:20) shows us how God can use evil and suffering for the greater good for we read: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
God in His wonderful master plan of salvation is even sovereign over the death of His own Son. For we read in (Acts 2:23): “Jesus, [who was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
Some may ask if God is absolutely sovereign over all the affairs of man where does our free will and personal responsibility for our actions come in. I use to struggle with this until I finally realized that both God’s sovereignty and man’s moral responsibility, for the decisions he makes, can both be true at the same time. Since the Scriptures clearly teach both doctrines, if I cannot reconcile the two with my finite mind, it becomes incumbent on me to leave this issue in the hands of an infinitely all-knowing, wise, and loving God who can. For in the last analysis, it is foolish to expect fallible and finite human beings to fully understand and comprehend an infinite and perfect God.
Instead, I have learned to trust God in everything, even when I cannot fully understand His ways and reasons. Just as a little child cannot understand why his parents do certain things, he can learn to trust them if there is a deep bond of love in the relationship. And it is the same with Jesus. For I know He loves me and has a good purpose in everything He allows to happen in my life. I love what Pastor Charles Stanley once said: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”1 If God is sovereign then I can rest in the knowledge that He will bring about a blessing even when things look bleak. For in the last analysis if I cannot trust Jesus who can I trust!
1 Quote by Charles Stanley: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.” (goodreads.com)
What a timely post, Curt! I have been meditating on God’s Sovereignty in our lives these past few weeks. We’ve been traveling throughout the Mid-West, and I’ve been amazed how God works out every detail in our lives for good and His divine purpose and still manages to work out the countless other things that need to happen for others and the circumstances around us. It boggles my mind that he can orchestrate every detail of our well-being and still prompt us to pursue and trust in His purpose for us in every step we take. My mind can’t comprehend how the Creator of the Universe can accomplish such things. Yet He does. Therefore, I’m happy to walk simply by faith and not by sight (2 Cor: 5:7). I would not live any other way.