What does the Bible say about God being in control?
What does it mean to say that God is sovereign? How do we understand His sovereignty in light of His love for us?
This is what we will find out in this article. There are a plethora of Scriptures that remind us that God is in control.
However, not only that, we are also told that God will not forsake us. Your situation is not outside of God’s control. Believers can rest in God’s sovereignty and His love for us.
Christian quotes about God being in control
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” Saint Augustine
“Because God is with us we need not fear what is ahead of us.”
“Anything under God’s control is never out of control.”
“When you accept the fact that sometimes seasons are dry and times are hard and that God is in control of both, you will discover a sense of divine refuge, because the hope then is in God and not in yourself.” Charles R. Swindoll
“The best thing of all is God is with us.” John Wesley
“If God is the Creator of the entire universe, then it must follow that He is the Lord of the whole universe. No part of the world is outside of His lordship. That means that no part of my life must be outside of His lordship.”- R. C. Sproul
“Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.” Kay Warren
“Divine sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot, but the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise and good! Because God is infinitely wise He cannot err, and because He is infinitely righteous He will not do wrong. Here then is the preciousness of this truth. The mere fact itself that God’s will is irresistible and irreversible fills me with fear, but once I realize that God wills only that which is good, my heart is made to rejoice.” A.W. Pink
“No matter how bad something seems, God can work it out for good.”
“By the light of nature we see God as a God above us, by the light of the law we see Him as a God against us, but by the light of the gospel we see Him as Emmanuel, God with us.” Matthew Henry
“Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.” C. S. Lewis
“True peace comes from knowing God is in control.”
“The more we understand God’s sovereignty, the more our prayers will be filled with thanksgiving.” – R.C. Sproul.
“Sometimes God lets you be in a situation that only He can fix so that you can see that He is the One who fixes it. Rest. He’s got it.” Tony Evans
“We must trust God with what we can’t control.”- David Jeremiah
“Be encouraged. Hold your head up high and know God is in control and has a plan for you. Instead of focusing on all the bad, be thankful for all the good.” ― Germany Kent
“Believe that God is in control. There is no need to be stressed out or worried.”
The sovereignty of God
There are no limits to God’s rule. He alone is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. As such, He can do with His creation as He pleases. He is God, and we are not. God is never surprised by what happens in our lives. He is completely powerful, and completely Holy. God is all-knowing. He is never frustrated, nor surprised, and never helpless. God is the most powerful Being ever. There is nothing that He is not completely in control over.
1) Psalm 135:6-7 “He does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths. 7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth, makes lightning bolts accompany the rain, and brings the wind out of his storehouses.”
2) Romans 9:6-9 “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”
3) 2 Chronicles 20:6 “He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you.”
4) Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
5) Psalm 93:1 “The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.”
6) Isaiah 40:22 “It 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.”
7) Job 23:13 “But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does.”
8) Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and 1that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
God purposes all things
God acts in a way that pleases Him. He never has to do anything that He doesn’t want to do. He will do whatever is necessary to glorify His attributes – because His Holiness demands it. In fact, the ultimate reason that suffering exists is so that God may be glorified, and His Mercy displayed.
9) Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”
10) Romans 9:10-13 “Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
11) Job 9:12 “He takes something away, but who can stop him? Who is going to ask him, ‘What are you doing?”
12) 1 Chronicles 29:12 “Riches and honor are in front of you. You rule everything. You hold power and strength in your hands, and you can make anyone great and strong.”
13) Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
God’s sovereignty provides us with comfort.
Since God is perfectly in control of everything, we can have comfort knowing that we are not alone. No matter how scary the world is around us, we can know that He is more powerful than whatever we come across. Nothing happens without God decreeing it. And He loves us, and promises to always be with us.
14) Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.”
15) Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
16) Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
17) Isaiah 43:13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
18) Psalm 94:19 “When my worry is great within me, Your comfort brings joy to my soul.”
19) Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.”
20) Ephesians 1:11 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”
God is in control: Seeking God in prayer
Since God is perfectly sovereign, we must turn to Him in prayer. We do not know what tomorrow brings – but He does. And He urges us to pour out our heart to Him. Scripture affirms both God’s Sovereignty as well as human responsibility. We are still commanded to repent of our sins and to cling to Christ. We are still supposed to seek God and strive towards our sanctification. Prayer is one aspect of that.
21) Isaiah 45:9-10 “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? 10 Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’
22) Acts 5:39 “But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
23) Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
24) 1 Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
25) 1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Resting in God’s sovereignty?
We rest in God’s sovereignty because He is safe to trust. God knows exactly what we are going through. He has allowed it for our ultimate sanctification and His glory. He will do whatever pleases Him, and whatever is for our best.
26) Romans 9:19-21 “You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?”
27) 1 Chronicles 29:11 “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.”
28) Nehemiah 9:6 “You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.”
29) Psalm 121:2-3 “My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.”
30) Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
31) Psalm 18:30 “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”
God’s sovereignty fuels worship
Because God is so completely OTHERLY in His Holiness, so perfect in what He does, His holiness demands worship from every being. While we rest in knowing that He loves us and is completely powerful – we are driven to praise Him out of gratitude for His unending mercy.
32) Romans 9:22-24 “What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”
33) 1 Chronicles 16:31 “Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth be filled with joy. And let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord rules!”
34) Isaiah 43:15 “I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.”
35) Luke 10:21 “At this time Jesus was full of the joy of the Holy Spirit. He said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You have kept these things hidden from the wise and from those who have much learning. You have shown them to little children. Yes, Father, it was what you wanted done.”
36) Psalm 123:1 “To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!”
37) Lamentations 5:19 “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.”
38) Revelation 4:2 “At once I was under the Spirit’s power. See! The throne was in heaven, and One was sitting on it.”
God’s sovereign love
The most incomprehensible of all of this is the fact that God loves us. We are wretched beings, completely bent on being utterly self-centered. Yet He chose to love us when we were the most unlovable. His love is based on His choice to glorify His character, His love is a choice that pleases Him the most. It is not based on anything that we do or do not do. It isn’t based on emotion or whim. God’s love us as a part of who He is.
39) 1 John 4:9 “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
40) 1 John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
41) Ephesians 3:18 “This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is.”
42) Psalm 45:6 “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
43) Psalm 93:2-4 “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. 3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves. 4 The Lord on high is mightier, Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea.
Do not fear: Remember that God is in control.
Throughout all of this we are emboldened. There is no need to fear – God is in control. God is completely in control of all that He has made. Every cell, every atom, every electron. God commands them to move and they move. God created all the laws of physics and holds them in place. There is no reason to fear because God promises He will take care of us.
44) Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
45) Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”
46) Matthew 19:26 “And looking at them Jesus said to them, ‘with people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
47) Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”
48) Psalm 29:10 “The LORD sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, the LORD sits enthroned as the eternal king.”
49) Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Who is there to fear? The Lord is my life’s fortress. Who is there to be afraid of?”
50) Hebrews 8:1 “The whole point of what we are saying is that we have such a High Priest, who sits at the right of the throne of the Divine Majesty in heaven.”
Conclusion
God’s Sovereignty is one of the most encouraging doctrines in all of Scripture. Through this we learn more of who God is, about His Holiness, Mercy and Love.
Reflection
Q1 – What has God taught you about His sovereignty?
Q2 – Do you struggle in believing that God is in control?
Q3 – How can you better rest in God’s sovereignty?
Q4 – What about God helps you to trust in Him the most?
Q5 – What are practical things that you can do to start building intimacy with God today?
Q6 – What was your favorite verse in this article and why?
