How To Traverse The Dark Side Of God’s Sovereignty

On Sunday, May 18, 1969, my grandmother suddenly passed from a heart attack while attending her church’s evening service. It was my mother’s 27th birthday. Now 83 years old, Mom has often told me that in the days that followed, her comfort lay in knowing my grandmother died at the exact moment God ordained.

Almost 55 years later, on January 25, 2024, my sister was killed by a hit-and-run driver while taking an afternoon walk. Again, Mom has been comforted by the truth that God, in his wisdom and love, numbered her daughter’s days. Yet Mom also admits that sometimes God’s sovereignty is hard to swallow. Since he can do whatever he pleases (Ps. 115:3) and nothing can thwart his holy will (Job 42:2), couldn’t he have spared my grandmother’s and my sister’s lives, at least for a time?

God’s sovereignty is a source of comfort in life’s trials, but I’ve found that to rest in its comfort, we must sometimes pass through the dark side of divine sovereignty. This is where we wrestle to reconcile what we’ve experienced with what we believe. In the shadows of grief, our soul aches, knowing without a doubt that God has the power to change our circumstances, but finding that’s not his plan. It’s here that our conviction that God is in control collides with a heart breaking under suffering, loss, or disappointment. While we believe in God’s sovereignty, we question why he doesn’t employ it for what we perceive to be our good.

Is there a situation in your life that has you navigating the friction between a settled belief in God’s power and an intense desire for your life to change? If so, you mustn’t forsake your faith. You can navigate the darkness and enter the light of God’s comfort on the other side. Here’s how.

1. Weep with Honesty

An old hymn by Elisha Hoffman begins like this:

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.

Our Savior sympathetically understands your griefs, and he’s strong to bear them all. Tell him your sorrows, including the angst and raw depth of your pain.

Whether you weep with loud cries or reflect in quiet stillness, fully and honestly lay your soul and troubles before the Lord in prayer. Don’t reserve a single sorrow to carry alone. Rather, cast each anxiety on him who actively cares for you with mercy and compassion (1 Pet. 5:7).

2. Wonder with Humility

As you weep before the Lord, questions will no doubt arise. Ask them. Why did this happen? Why in this way? Why at this time? Why him? Why her? Why me? Your wondering before the Lord is inevitable and not necessarily sinful. Don’t ask your questions sitting in judgment of the Lord. If you do, you’ll be assuming a position of authority that isn’t yours, and you must repent of your pride.

God’s sovereignty is a source of comfort in trials, but to rest in its comfort, we must sometimes pass through the dark side of divine sovereignty.

But if you ask—if you wonder from the depth of your sorrow—with genuine humility, there’s no sin in that. Such questions don’t impugn God but rather express a faith that all things are guided ultimately by his good and sovereign hand. God’s judgments are unsearchable and his ways inscrutable. Who has been his counselor (Rom. 11:33–34)? With a submissive understanding that your questions may never be answered to your liking, entrust yourself to the infinite wisdom of the God who sees, knows, and loves you.

3. Worship with Hope

The purpose of worship isn’t to comfort and strengthen your soul but to exalt and glorify the God of heaven and earth. Yet in his kindness, God spiritually blesses you as you bless his holy name. He graciously uses worship to increase your faith, joy, and perseverance. So in your suffering, praise and thank the Lord with assurance that he does all things well and will right all wrongs in his eternal kingdom.

Worshiping the Lord with this hope begets more hope for your present journey. This is especially true as you meet with your church family. The psalmist says, “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation” (Ps. 111:1). Don’t neglect worship services when you walk through trials. Instead, place yourself among God’s people. God will use your congregation’s singing, praying, reading of Scripture, sharing of testimonies, and preaching of the Word to edify you and guide you to the brighter side of his sovereignty.

In his kindness, God spiritually blesses you as you bless his holy name.

Suffering believer, the God whose ways you don’t understand will never forsake you. He loves you with a faithful and everlasting love through his Son, our merciful Savior.

As you contend with God’s sovereignty in your trials, you can pray with the psalmist, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night.” But by God’s grace, you can also pray resolutely, “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you” (139:11–12). As you wrestle in the shadows to surrender to God’s will, his light—the comfort of his wisdom, power, and love—patiently shines on you.