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Glory · Suffering & God's Will
God is sovereign: He is the King who rules over all creation and history, and He works all things according to the counsel of His will. This is not a cold fate but the rule of a wise and loving Father, who works even evil into good for His people. His sovereignty and our real choices are both true, and its comfort is that nothing is outside His control and nothing can separate us from His love.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/what-does-it-mean-that-god-is-sovereign · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Isaiah 40:12-31
As you read: The nations are like a drop in a bucket before the one who sits above the circle of the earth.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13Who has directed the Spirit of Yahweh, or has taught him as his counselor?
14Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.
16Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?
19A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.
20He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.
21Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard, yet? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;
23who brings princes to nothing; who makes the judges of the earth like meaningless.
24They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
25“To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, Not one is lacking.
27Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God?”
28Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, The Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.
30Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;
31But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
Daniel 4:28-37
As you read: Nebuchadnezzar humbled: 'he does according to his will in the army of heaven,' and the King restored.
28All this came on the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon.
30The king spoke and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
31While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from the sky, saying, “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you.
32You shall be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass as oxen. Seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.”
33This was fulfilled the same hour on Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men, and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky, until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
34At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.
35All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stay his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?
36At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought to me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me.
37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
Ephesians 1:3-14
As you read: Our blessing traced to God who 'works all things after the counsel of his will.'
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;
5having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved,
7in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
11in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;
12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
13in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
Psalms 103:19-22
As you read: The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
19Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.
20Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.
21Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.
22Praise Yahweh, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise Yahweh, my soul!
The psalmist confesses, 'Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all,' and Paul blesses 'the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' through whom we were chosen and were 'assigned an inheritance... having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will.' From the throne of the universe to the details of our salvation, God rules. There is no corner of existence outside His kingship.
“Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.”Psalm 103:19
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;”Ephesians 1:3
“in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;”Ephesians 1:11
“Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all; and in your hand is power and might; and it is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all.”1 Chronicles 29:11-12
“But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.”Psalm 115:3
Nebuchadnezzar, after his pride was broken, confessed of God: 'he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stay his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?' Isaiah sets the scale: 'All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.' God is not one ruler among many; He is the King to whom every throne and every heart is answerable.
“All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stay his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?”Daniel 4:35
“Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing. Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering. All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.”Isaiah 40:15-17
“But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.”Psalm 115:3
“Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.”Psalm 103:19
Sovereignty is not distant fate; it is the rule of a Father with a purpose. Paul's promise spans both: 'We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.' Joseph says the same over the worst betrayal imaginable: 'You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.' Even that which is evil in itself, God bends toward His people's good and His glory.
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”Romans 8:28
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive.”Genesis 50:20
“in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;”Ephesians 1:11
““For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.”Acts 4:27-28
The Bible never pits God's rule against human responsibility; it holds both without flinching. At Pentecost, Peter says Jesus was 'delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God' and yet was taken 'by the hand of lawless men,' crucified and killed: God's plan, human guilt, both fully real. Paul commands us to 'work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,' and adds, 'For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.' Our choosing is real precisely because God is at work.
“him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;”Acts 2:23
““For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.”Acts 4:27-28
“So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.”Philippians 2:12-13
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive.”Genesis 50:20
Jesus grounds our fearlessness in the Father's sovereign care: 'the very hairs of your head are all numbered,' and not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father's will. If God rules the sparrows and numbers our hairs, then every circumstance of our lives is held by Him. Paul's confidence is the last word: nothing, 'neither death, nor life… nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' The One who rules all things loves us.
““Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.”Matthew 10:29-31
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans 8:38-39
“He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”Acts 17:26-27
“casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.”1 Peter 5:7