Scars and Sovereignty

What is God’s Sovereignty? A Biblical Perspective

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Grant

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The Question That Changes Everything

The saw bit deep. Blood splattered. My world narrowed to the jarring pain and the awful realization—this wasn’t a minor injury.

My buddy, J, was there, his training as a sheriff’s deputy kicking in as he wrapped makeshift bandages around my now-mangled hand.

I gritted my teeth, my mind reeling with a single, burning question:

Was God in control of this?

Not just in a vague, abstract sense. But in the raw, immediate reality of my ripped-apart fingers, my future forever altered. Was this a divine accident? Or was He sovereign over my suffering?

When tragedy strikes, when life unravels, when prayers go unanswered—we all ask the same question. Is God really in control? And if He is, what does that actually mean?

Defining God’s Sovereignty

God’s sovereignty means that He reigns over all things, at all times, with absolute authority.

The Bible doesn’t use the word “sovereignty” often, but the truth saturates Scripture. To say God is sovereign is to say nothing happens outside His control.

  • Psalm 115:3 – “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”
  • Isaiah 46:9-10 – “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning… saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’”
  • Ephesians 1:11 – “…having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

All things. Not some things. Not most things. All things. Every detail, every moment, every molecule—governed by His hand.

Why We Struggle with God’s Sovereignty

We like the idea of God’s control when it means blessings, protection, and open doors. But what about suffering? What about loss?

Because if God is truly sovereign, then He could have stopped it. The accident. The diagnosis. The betrayal. The miscarriage. But He didn’t.

And that’s where the tension lies. If He is in control, then why does He allow suffering? How can He be both sovereign and good?

Sovereignty Without Goodness is Terrifying

If God were only sovereign but not good, we would be at the mercy of a cruel dictator. A distant, detached ruler who wields power without compassion. But that is not the God of Scripture.

  • Psalm 145:9 – “The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.”
  • Nahum 1:7 – “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.”
  • Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.”

God is not just sovereign—He is good.

And that makes all the difference. Because His sovereignty is not about raw power; it is about perfect wisdom and love. Even when we don’t understand His plan, we can trust His heart.

The Cross:
The Pinnacle of Sovereign Suffering

There is no greater proof of God’s sovereignty and goodness than the cross.

Acts 2:23 says that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”

Think about that. The most horrific event in history—the betrayal, suffering, and execution of the Son of God—wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t Plan B. It was ordained.

And yet, it was also the greatest act of love in history. The same God who sovereignly planned Christ’s suffering sovereignly planned redemption through it.

If that is true of the cross, then it is true of your suffering too.

The pain you didn’t choose. The prayers that seem unanswered. The scars you carry. They are not random. They are not wasted. They are part of a sovereign plan far greater than you can see.

God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

At this point, a question naturally arises: If God is sovereign over all things, do my choices even matter?

The Bible’s answer is clear: Yes.

God’s sovereignty does not cancel out human responsibility—it upholds it. We see this most vividly in the story of Joseph. After years of betrayal, suffering, and injustice, Joseph stands before his brothers and declares:

  • Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.”

Both are true: Joseph’s brothers acted out of sinful intent, but God sovereignly worked through their choices to accomplish His divine purpose.

This is the mystery of sovereignty and responsibility—God reigns over all things, yet our actions still have meaning. Our choices, obedience, and prayers are part of God’s ordained means to accomplish His will. We are not robots; we are responsible beings living within God’s sovereign plan.

John Piper puts it this way: “God governs the hearts and minds of all people without negating their responsibility or culpability.”

We act, and God rules.

Both realities coexist in perfect harmony.

So What Does This Mean for You?

  1. Your suffering is not outside His control.
    • He is not reacting. He is ruling.
  2. Your suffering is not meaningless.
    • If God has ordained it, He has a purpose for it. Even if you don’t see it now.
  3. Your suffering will not have the final word.
    • The same God who sovereignly planned the cross sovereignly planned the empty tomb.

So, when you ask, “Is God in control of this?”—the answer is a resounding yes.

And that is good news.

A Sovereign God Worth Trusting

I don’t know what you’re facing today. But I know this: there is no safer place to be than in the hands of a sovereign, good, and merciful God.

The same God who governs the stars governs your pain.
The same God who wrote the beginning wrote your ending.
And the same God who rules the universe rules over every scar—yours and mine.

And that changes everything. Well—almost everything. I’m still terrible at woodworking.

Where Do You Need to Trust His Sovereignty Today?

I’d love to hear—what aspect of God’s sovereignty has been hardest for you to grasp? Drop a comment below, and let’s wrestle through it together.

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Comments

2 responses to “What is God’s Sovereignty? A Biblical Perspective”

  1. Kirsten

    Ok, I’m dropping a comment. Hope you have a few minutes!

    Something I think of so often. How God spoke to me. So many times. I used to put my truck in four wheel drive on Halloween and take it out on Memorial Day. That’s how serious the snow was where I lived. And the 77-mile-round-trip drive to work. Every day. In a blizzard. Seven months of the year. Every year. My prayer on that drive: “Jesus, keep me safe. Get me home to my family who needs me.” So simple. So succinct. And it worked. Every time. I always heard the response “Everything will be fine.” And it was. Every day. Never a ditch or mishap or breakdown. So much comfort. I could drive through anything and I knew I was safe.

    The day my son was killed? A neighbor knocking at the door on a November evening. A ride in the neighbor’s truck to another neighbor’s house, thinking it was a snowmobile accident. Arriving there and hearing our son was shot. What?! Another ride in another neighbor’s truck to the hospital. I can still see the November sky from the backseat of that truck, oddly clear and filled with beautiful clouds in an almost-dark twilight. Silent. Serene. So much like a surreal painting. I said the same prayer “Jesus, keep my family safe, keep my son safe, tell me everything will be fine.” Silence. Deafening silence. I kept asking. And I heard nothing. And I knew. I just knew. It was too late.

    My husband and I arrived at the hospital. And the blood. The blood was just everywhere in my mind. I couldn’t stop seeing it. Some days still I can’t stop seeing it. But it was really a trail. Leading from the ambulance parking into the ER hallway and finally to the door of the room where my son was. A closed door. My husband pacing like a caged animal. And the doctor finally coming out, taking my hands, asking “are these the parents?” And saying “Mrs. Rinne, your son has not survived.” The anguish, the sheer anger, the utter disbelief, the screaming and finally, the silence. People in a haze, everywhere around us.

    Entering the room. Seeing my son. So peaceful. So serene. So STILL. Sitting next to my son, and my husband asking the Lord to take his soul, and suddenly He was THERE. Jesus was there. He couldn’t answer me on the drive to the hospital, because He knew it wasn’t the answer I wanted, but He certainly answered me in that hospital room as I trembled and wept. He gave me the strength to stand up and accept reality. He gave me the strength to walk out of that room into a new reality. He was definitely in control. And hours later when my husband and I walked into our cold house and sat in front of the blazing fire my husband built within minutes in the wood stove, we looked at each other and said “we have no regrets.” Why was that the first thing we said, of all things? Thank God. Because we still feel it deeply today. Thank God. And we also said “it could have been worse.” I believe we could only say that with God’s grace. With His sovereign power. And I still believe today, six years later, that yes, it could be worse. And we also still feel no regrets, by God’s grace. Any parent, losing a child in the blink of an eye, could feel a multitude of regrets, but by the Lord’s grace we mercifully feel none.

    I no longer hear God’s voice during desperate moments, like the 77 mile round-trip-drive-in-a-continuous-blizzard, because I think I hear His voice all the time. And more, I hear my son’s voice, telling me things only he can tell me, but I feel strongly that he walks alongside Jesus, and they are both silently laughing at me, in the way my son always laughed at me, making me laugh at myself. Because yes, God is sovereign and He KNOWS – He knows our suffering will not have the last word, He knows once we place our suffering in His hands it becomes healing, He knows what we don’t know, and that is enough for me to keep on keeping on. I trust His sovereignty every day. No matter what you face, it can always be worse. Somehow knowing that, and knowing that He is truly in control, He knows what He is doing, creates the calm we need to get through every day and live it with the joy He intended for us.

    It’s hard to end this comment except with this: even though I can’t see an ambulance without a complete bawling breakdown, and thinking too hard about that night turns me into a crumbling mess, I feel a calm I’ve never felt before. I’ve told many people that losing a child is like a low hum of sadness every day, some days are just a little louder. But there is also a calmness like I’ve never experienced, because when you’ve survived something traumatic, I think you learn – REALLY learn- that there is truly a higher power, a sovereign power in God that keeps pushing you to move through each day with a NEW purpose, one you never thought possible.

    Let me know when you post on life’s purpose, I have a lot to say about that too. lol. Keep laughing, and keep learning, and keep loving.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Kirsten, I have no words that can match the weight of yours. I read this with tears in my eyes, taking in every line, every raw emotion, every unshakable truth of God’s sovereignty that you’ve lived through in a way most of us will never fully grasp.

      What a testimony—not just of loss, but of trust. Not just of suffering, but of grace. Not just of what was taken, but of the God who still holds you in the aftermath.

      The image of you walking that blood-streaked trail to the ER, the silence when you cried out, the weight of Jesus’ presence when you needed Him most—it’s holy ground. And then, that first thought you and your husband spoke to each other: We have no regrets. That’s grace upon grace.

      I love what you said: He knows our suffering will not have the last word. That’s it. That’s the hope we cling to, even through the tears, even through the ambulance sirens that still bring you to your knees.

      Thank you for sharing this. Thank you for letting us see God’s faithfulness through your story. And yes—when I write about life’s purpose, I want to hear everything you have to say. Keep writing, keep trusting, and keep laughing, just like your son and Jesus are doing as they walk the streets of heaven together.

      Reply

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