His sovereignty even over our very decisions and choices (including that to choose him) is good because it means none of our decisions and choices are the ones that ultimately derails his plans for the world, for his people or for us in particular. I am convinced that CH Spurgeon had it right: ‘The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.’
Some people really don’t seem to like belief in the absolute sovereignty of God. I don’t want to presume what, exactly, offends them about it. I just know that it does. But as an absolute sovereignty of God believer, I thought I would outline a few of the benefits that such a doctrine, if true, might bring us.
An Ordered Universe
If God is absolutely sovereign over all things, it means there is an ordered universe in which nothing ultimately happens by chance. The great thing about that is it means all things – even particularly difficult and heinous things – have some ultimate, good purpose behind them. It obviously doesn’t make the bad thing good in and of itself. Of course not. But it does mean the bad things isn’t just unremittingly bad. God does have a good purpose, in and ultimate sense, even in this.
Security in God’s Plan for my Life
One of the many handwringing things that Christians sometimes work themselves up about is whether they are “in God’s will”. There can be something about wondering whether we are “in God’s will” that has a habit of just totally hamstringing us so that we effectively don’t do anything at all. But a belief in the absolute sovereignty of God means I can’t walk outside of God’s will. Not in an ultimate sense. I can do what he tells me he doesn’t want me to do; I can walk outside of his preceptive will that way. I can do things that don’t make God happy; I can walk outside of his will of disposition that way too. But I can’t walk outside of his decretive will; what God ultimately intends to happen in the world.