Austin's Blog

I remember as Valerie and I walked out of the hospital room in the pediatric ICU without Gabriel, we quoted Job 1:21, which says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In that moment, more than in any other moment in recent history, we felt the sustaining hand of the Sovereign God. The only path forward was the one that yielded to and submitted to God’s wise and good ordering of all things, despite what we felt or experienced. The God whose presence Gabriel had just entered was no less sovereign than when he was healthy just three days prior.

Margaret Clarkson writes, “The sovereignty of God is the one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. The circumstances surrounding our lives are no accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our sovereign God.”

Why should someone believe this? First, Scripture teaches that God is sovereign over evil: directing it (Gen. 50:20; Isa. 10:5–7, 12–13, 15; Acts 2:23), preventing it (Gen. 20:6; Hos. 2:5–7), permitting it (Psa. 81:11–12; Rom. 1:24, 26, 28), and limiting it (2 Thess. 2:6–7). God is in control of all things, even those that appear to be out of control.

Second, when we think through the options, we should ask ourselves, “Who would we want to be in control of evil in the world?”

Satan? He is the very epitome of wickedness and evil.
The demonic? They are imperfect and evil.
Angels? They are good but limited.
Human beings? We are finite, frail, fickle, and full of sin.
Blind forces or fate? There’s no hope there—no direction, purpose, or design.
Nature? Nature has no agency.
God? He is all-wise, all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful, and all-good.

We ought to want God to be sovereign over the hard things because He is the only One eminently qualified for the task. Evil is big, but our God is never blindsided. He does not suffer history, He moves and makes it.

Where does this leave someone as they are suffering through trials, tribulations, and temptations? You can trust and bank on the character of God in the midst of them. Nothing is wasted and it will be used by God for your ultimate good. E.S. McGorlick encourages us:

“God ordained your suffering to take place for His glory and for your own good. Through this suffering He will continue His work of transforming you into the likeness of His Son. You will learn to identify with the sufferings of Christ, to cry out to God alone to sustain you, and to be done with sin. You will gain the ability to comfort others who suffer like you have. Your suffering will abound in maturity by producing endurance, character, and a hope that will not disappoint you. The cares of this world will grow dim, the comforts and meditations on the next ever more glorious. God is with you in your suffering, sufficient to sustain you, and faithful to the end.”

Everything comes through the Father’s hands and heart, and we can trust Him to do what is in our best interest—now and for eternity.