“God is sovereign.” It’s a common phrase, especially among those of us who cherish the Reformed “doctrines of grace.” God is sovereign over salvation – yes – but that is because God is sovereign over every detail in His universe. As R.C. Sproul used to say: “There are no maverick molecules.”
We read in Isaiah 46:9-10:
"...for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose...'"
God is accomplishing His purpose in the world. It’s His counsel that shall ultimately stand. God is not merely reacting to the events of the world, but actively orchestrating His own purposes and carrying out His counsel. Ephesians 1 says that He is working “all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11).
When Tragedy Strikes
But what about tragedies? When we receive bad news, an unfavorable diagnosis, or devastating loss—what then? Are those things any less orchestrated by this sovereign God?
John Piper has his own story about something tragic that happened to their family when he was 28 years old. The following excerpt is from a 2005 interview at the Desiring God National Conference, where Justin Taylor asks him about that very personal loss:
Justin Taylor:
One more personal question before we get to some more theological questions. You and I were chatting on the phone earlier, and you mentioned that today is a very special day in your life. It’s your mother’s birthday today [October 7]. And if my math is right, she would have been eighty-seven?
John Piper:
That’s right.
Justin Taylor:
I wonder if you could tell us the significance of your mother and her birthday for this topic of suffering and the sovereignty of God.
John Piper:
The question is relevant because my mother was killed thirty-one years ago, when I was twenty-eight years old, in a bus accident in Israel.
[Just for clarification, his parents were taking a tour in Israel when a lumber truck swerved to miss the bus they were riding. As the truck swerved, some of the lumber flew directly into the bus window, killing his mother instantly and severely injuring his father.]
I chose not to build it into the message of this book—because I feel like I beat the drum too much sometimes. But it shows you how little I’ve suffered really. I’ve really not suffered very much, because this is the biggest loss I’ve ever had. I was twenty-eight years old and I lost my mother, and it was huge. To this day, if I choose, I can cry. I can choose to cry. I just think about a certain thing and I can cry. And I cried every day for six months when my mother died.
But here’s the relevance for this context. I was twenty-eight years old. I was six years into my confidence in the total sovereignty of God. And as that phone call happened—many of you have gotten these phone calls too—it’s a brother-in-law this time. And he said, “Johnny, I’ve got bad news. Are you ready?” “Yes.” “Your mother was just killed in a bus wreck in Israel, and your dad may not make it.” And I said, “Do you know any more?” He gave me what details he had. And as I hung up, my little two-year-old Karsten is pulling on my pant leg. “Daddy, sad? Daddy, sad?”
And I say to my wife, “Mother’s dead, and Daddy may not make it. Just let me be alone for a while.” I walked back to the bedroom and kneeled down by the bed and cried for two hours. I just heaved for two hours. And never once did I have any emotional anger at God. Never once did it occur to me I should somehow get upset about God. I simply thought, “If God cannot control the flight of a four-by-four flying through the front of a bus after a van hits it, I can’t worship him.” How can you worship a God who just fumbles the ball? He can’t control a piece of lumber? That’s not a God I’m going to worship. It is far easier for me to worship a God who is totally in control and offers me the mysterious hope: this is going to be good for you, for her, for your dad, for the cause of evangelism. And I could tell you stories if we had time. I could tell you stories from my father of what that did for his ministry. He remarried a year later. I did the wedding. Now he’s lost his second wife after twenty-five years. But what God did in his ministry…
I can remember riding with my daddy in the ambulance, with my mother in the hearse behind us. We were coming from Atlanta, Georgia to Greenville, South Carolina, and Daddy was crying on and off and saying, “Why was I spared? God must have something for me. God must have something for me.” And I just sat and listened, and, oh, did God have something for him!
The Promise That Holds
The God who controls planets, storms, flowers, cars… and flying lumber… assures His blood-bought people through His apostle:
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
All things?
All things.
When you lay your head down at night, Christian, (and every day in between) know that God is for you. He is actively working all things – including every tragedy, every hurt, every bit of suffering – for your ultimate good.
(Read or watch the full interview between John Piper and Justin Taylor here)
"This & That" 
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