1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
14 “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.”
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.
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
8 “Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. 11 From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.”
4 “Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD--with the first of them and with the last--I am he.”
5 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
9 Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
“His law he enforces; the stars in their courses and sun in its orbit obediently shine; the hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains, the deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.” Katherine Davis
“Fewer doctrines of the Christian faith are more comforting than the sovereignty of God. It humbles you in good seasons, provides hope in hard seasons, and gives joy in all seasons. The doctrine of God's sovereignty is a constant nourishment for the soul. The sovereignty of God is a sweet pillow that you can lay your head on at night. It is a beautiful truth not only that God is in control over all, but is also working everything out- the good and the bad--for your good and for His glory. This sweet doctrine is medicine for the soul that you can take in any season of life.” David Qaoud
“Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all. Nothing that comes to me is devoid of divine purpose. In seeking to see the whole with God's eyes, we can find the peace which human events so often destroy. I rest, dear Lord, in the knowledge that You are the Blessed Controller of all things.” Elisabeth Elliot
“Jesus is the One who shows us the paradoxical route to meaning in a chaotic and hostile world. It’s the paradox of the gospel: Strength is found in weakness. Control is found in dependency. Power is found in surrender....God uses the frustrations of this life and the hurt of relationships to compel us to look beyond what we can control to the God who controls all things in order to woo us to himself. As we move from control to surrender, we move from chasing the wind under the sun to embracing God above it.” Dan Allender
“Praise elevates our eyes off our circumstances and places them on to Him Who is able to keep us from falling. Praise often precedes the movement of God’s hand for His children because it demonstrates our love and dependence upon Him having full knowledge it is He Who is actually in control of all things – not us.” BHY
“Sure, these crops were planted by the hand of the Farmer but it’s clear every single day we look out at them: they rest in the hand of the Father. It’s only a mirage to think that any of us have control, that we turn the world.” Ann Voskamp
“Consider for a moment just how much control we have? Rightly so, we make our plans yet we all must agree that we clearly have no idea what the day will bring forth. All too often our plans go awry for something as mundane as a cancelation of a flight, a child throwing up or a traffic jam that delays everything. If we cannot even control twenty-four hours or even twenty-four minutes or even twenty-four seconds (for that matter) what in the world makes us think we can control a lifetime? The wise look up. The wise rest in His Authority and receive their marching orders from Him seeking to abide in the center of His good and pleasing and perfect will. We make plans, but they are not authoritative plans – He often overrides them – yet all for our good and His glory never one surpassing the other. The important thing to learn is that He has a plan for every life and we want to walk in it. It may seem very difficult and not of our choosing (and more often than not this is the case) but it is always for our best – always. And in the end, it brings forth much fruit not to mention perfect peace and contentment.” BHY
“It can be hard to be diligent in the difficult, faithful while unseen, and brave in the unknown. Peace happens once we accept God’s sovereignty in light of our inability to control the outcome. When hard things strike, although our natural response is to fix it or flee, God gives us the choice to trust Him with the outcome.” Kia Stephens
“We as Christians know that faith is taking God at His Word. And we realize that faith does not get us around our problems, but it gets us through them. Such a promise is found in Psalm 48:14, ‘For this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.’ His promise then is no matter how difficult we may find life to be, He will guide us all the way home. Isaiah 42:16 ‘And I will bring the blind by a way they know not. I will lead them in paths that they have not known.’ This is the way God leads His own. You and I are blind to the future, but He is not, and He has promised to lead all who will put their trust in Him. Sometimes, because our circumstances are totally out of our control, we not only have to believe these promises, but we must put them to the test.” Wales Goebel
“It felt like I went into a terrifying freefall when I let go of all my illusions of control and self-importance — and what I found is that I landed in a soft net of love.” Jennifer Fulwiler