Suffering, primarily as a result of persecution, is something that true believers may expect to experience. Jesus predicted that there would be troubles in this life (John 16:33), and the apostles supported Him in this teaching (2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12). Even if these statements are obediently and faithfully accepted as true – after all, they are in Scripture – the questions of why, how, and on what basis still arise in the minds of Christians.
Those basic questions, which all honest and searching believers are going to have – to one degree or another based on their level of maturity – can be answered under one all-encompassing reality. That reality is the sovereignty of God which, when rightly understood and properly embraced, serves as the foundational lens through which Christians may see all truths in Scripture more clearly. Knowing about God’s sovereignty in all things does not mean that we will have comprehensive understanding, but it gives us a proper hope in the midst of the more difficult and less clear aspects of His working in our lives (Genesis 18:25; Isaiah 55:9).
A complete study of the sovereignty of God is beyond our scope here, but a brief discussion will help put the origin and cause of suffering into context. A. W. Pink gives this concise comment: “To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. “ He then expands on how God’s sovereignty is executed.
The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say God is sovereign, we affirm His right to govern the universe, which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, viz.: that He may mold that day into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any.
Sovereignty characterizes the whole Being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes. He is sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. This fact is evidenced on every page of Scripture. For a long season that power appears to be dormant and then it goes forth with irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder Israel from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness. What happened? God exercised His power. His people were delivered and their cruel taskmasters slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the contrary, the Lord swore that He would “have war with Amalek from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16). Again, when Israel entered the land of Canaan, God’s power was displayed. The city of Jericho barred their progress. What happened? Israel did not draw a bow or strike a blow. The Lord stretched forth His hand and the walls fell down flat. But the miracle was never repeated! No other city fell after this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword! (The Sovereignty of God, 22-23).
From that analysis we can infer that God’s sovereignty is all powerful but not always predictable from the human standpoint. God is free to do or not do as He chooses in any given situation, and He is not in any way obligated to repeat the same action in connection with any subsequent, similar situation. It is in this way that God sovereignly chooses, as part of His plan, to bring suffering into the lives of various Christians, under differing circumstances with varying results. In Isaiah 45:7, God says He is “the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.” Because of His sovereign power, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Again we can see that God’s sphere of operation is comprehensive. Therefore, sufferings, trials, persecutions, and all kinds of adversity that may face believers are certainly under His sovereign control and can originate as part of His sovereign plan.
(from The Power of Suffering by John MacArthur)
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