What does it mean for God to be Sovereign?

Have you ever wondered about the sovereignty of God? And what we mean when we say that God is sovereign? Clearly, sovereignty has to do with kingship, with who is in control. Who makes the rules, the laws, who decides what and how things should be, and what should take place. And, of course, that person must be God. Indeed, God’s role in the world is to do precisely that? Isn’t it?

There is a difficulty with this reasoning. While the idea of a sovereign God seeks to make God and our world both more understandable and bearable. In so doing, it creates some profound problems.

For, if God is in control, if he is sovereign over this world in the way that we imply, is he then responsible for the suffering that takes place? Does he ordain the death of children from illness and disease? The mass slaughter of millions of people? Starvation? Atrocities? Or the barbaric treatment of individuals?

And what happens when these seemingly abstract questions become personal? When those close to us die? When they or ourselves are living with a terminal illness? Or an incurable disease? When our children suffer? Or, even, die? How are we to cope when the unthinkable occurs?

In the discussions surrounding these times in our lives, Christian conversation often revolves around the idea that God is in control. The implication then is that God willed this to happen to us and those we love. And that God orchestrates pain and suffering.

But are we to believe that God wills what is evil? Or that which even we as humans, flawed as we are, reject as wrong? Is that compatible with the God of scripture? With a God who is good, wonderful, and loving? The very nature of God himself is brought into question when we follow this line of reasoning.

Is there, perhaps, another way to look at this? A way that is more complicated but also more satisfying?

Reading our Bibles, starting in Genesis, we are presented with the picture of Eden. The place where Adam and Eve live. It is idyllic. There is no pain, no suffering, and God is there. The man and the woman live in communion with God. And then we are introduced to the serpent, the one who comes to destroy what God has made. And sin, pain, and suffering enter into the experience of all who live in this cosmos.

God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that would happen. He wasn’t left to make the best out of a bad situation. Clearly, God intended that this would occur. And Satan took his place as the one who rules the earth (e.g. Matthew 4: 8-9, John 12:31, 2 Corinthians 4:4).

Which leads us to questions like Why? Why would God make such a world? Maybe, we will never fully know this side of eternity. Yes, we were put here on this planet to know God. But are we also here to become something?

For this to be possible, God chose to create a world with real choices and real consequences that must be worked out in practice. So although God could take absolute control, he has chosen not to.

For God knew it was worth it. That the end result was worth so much more than the pain that went into the process. Or rather, that the pain of the process is what makes what comes out the other side worth so much. For God sent Jesus, the one who, we are told, was made perfect through suffering (Hebrews 2:10). This Jesus, the man who was also God, lived, died, and rose again. And with his death, he ushered in a new world, an everlasting kingdom, where he is the king.

Jesus talked so often about the kingdom. What he called both the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. Any reading of the gospels shows that time and time again, Jesus said that the kingdom was here, or the kingdom was coming. But what was and is this kingdom? How does it affect us? And how does it affect the world in which we live? For Jesus himself said that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).

If Jesus is not the ruler of this world, it should not come as a surprise when evil comes our way. When horrible things happen, as they have since the fall, and as they will until this world comes to an end (if you want a picture of that, have a good read of the book of Revelation).

But, where does this leave us? For we, as human beings, hate to not be in control. And if we can’t be in control, then surely God must be. For is not he just an extension of ourselves? Won’t he make sure that everything is ok? That if we follow him, then bad things will not happen. How else can we live?

I think we need to hold on to this: we are given an extraordinary, tremendous promise. If we follow him, God will take all the terrible things, the worst moments of our lives, and he will bring good out of them. (See Romans 8:28)

And even more than this, as we follow in the footsteps of our God and saviour. As we, too, face the crucible of suffering. Is it there, perhaps, that we are refined and perfected Could it be that in passing through this world, with the pain and suffering which are a natural part of our journey, we have an opportunity? An opportunity, should we choose to follow Jesus, to become the kind of people that God intends us to be?

And so, instead, we have a God who uses all things but does not ordain all things. This is a vital distinction.

In all this, I do not mean to imply that God cannot and does not act in this world. He does. Nor that God is not the supreme authority above all other powers and authorities, for he is that also. He is the one who allows Satan to rule this world. He is the one who takes all that is intended for our harm and works it instead by his masterful hand, for good.

As followers of the Christ, we do indeed have a King. He is wonderful, exalted, mighty, all the Omni-words we could choose to give him and more. But, his kingdom is not this world. We, instead, live in two worlds – both in this earthly world and the world of the kingdom. Our job is to faithfully, trustingly, follow him. Knowing that it is in his hands and his alone, we are truly safe. And we join with him, and all the saints who have gone before us and pray,

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven….”

Matthew 6: 9-10

For that prayer only makes sense in the light of the fact that it needs to be asked. That God’s will is not, as a matter of fact, always done on this earth.

Dear Father, you are so far above us, so much more than we can understand or imagine. Please teach us your ways. Help us to see you more fully. To think carefully through the things that are important but to ultimately trust you, day by day. May your will be done in our lives today. Amen.

Have you thought about this before? How do you understand the sovereignty of God? And how does that influence the way that you pray? What are your reflections?

These are just my clumsy thoughts, significantly shaped by those whose wisdom and insight I respect the most. They are offered in the hope that they might be of use to some of you. But if not, feel free to ignore them. As always, they are but a drop in the bucket of a vast topic and an infinitely bigger God.

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