The doctrine of the sovereignty of God also stabilizes our lives in many practical ways. As finite beings, our perspective on life is often very limited. Consequently, we worry about many things, sometimes to the point of being paralyzed by our anxieties and fears. If God were not sovereign we might have something to worry about! How can we be sure that he will triumph in the end? How can we know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)? We can know because our confidence lies in God himself, the creator and sustainer of the universe. He is the one who never slumbers or sleeps. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explicitly forbids an unbelieving kind of worry that takes our minds away from what is most important. He tells us not to worry about our lives, what we will eat or drink; or about our bodies, what we will wear, not only because we are more important than food, drink and clothes, but because our heavenly Father knows that we need them and he promises to provide for us if we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:32-33). When he was speaking on the subject of the sovereignty of God I often heard John Reisinger say, “the sovereignty of God is a soft pillow for a weary head!” Indeed it is. Life can be difficult. Sometimes it is best described as a “veil of tears.” There are many disappointments and discouragements. Terminal pronouncements that would drive us to despair if it were not for the fact that God is sovereign and he reigns in heaven and on earth.
Divine sovereignty also rules out luck or chance. Things may appear to happen “by accident” but ultimately this is not the case. This universe in which we live is a personal universe because behind everything that happens is the triune God who is not only all-wise, all-powerful and all-knowing, but infinitely personal. Nothing just happens. Things come about because they have been decreed by our Father in heaven. This is the difference between various forms of pagan superstition and the Christian faith. Superstitious people try their best to appease the “forces” of the universe in the vain hope that this will cause things to go well with them. Today many people consult horoscopes and fortune-tellers hoping to discover hidden information that will help them plan for the future. But Christians who understand the sovereignty of God do not need any of these things. If we need wisdom we go to the word of the God who cannot lie. When things come into our lives that we do not understand we know that they have come from his wise and loving hand and that they serve a purpose in our lives. Although we may not be able to see it at the time and may never understand God’s dealings with us until we stand before him in glory, the fact that he is there directing all things for his glory and our good is profoundly comforting. Our knowledge of God’s sovereignty keeps us from being tossed back and forth like the waves of the sea. As Edward More wrote in his hymn Solid Rock: “His oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay.” There is no greater stability than this. When we are mindful of his sovereignty, the world is a different place for the Christian, no matter what is going on around them.
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