Divine Decree: God’s Sovereignty Over All Things

The doctrine of divine decree—known in Arabic as qadar—addresses one of theology’s most profound and perplexing questions: How does God’s absolute sovereignty relate to human freedom and responsibility? Does God ordain everything that happens, or do human beings possess genuine freedom to choose their actions? And if God does decree all events, how can He justly hold people accountable for their choices?

These questions resonate across all three Abrahamic faiths, though they answer them in different ways. Islam explicitly identifies belief in divine decree (qadar) as one of the six pillars of Islamic faith, making it a fundamental article of belief. Judaism emphasizes God’s absolute sovereignty while maintaining robust human free will and responsibility. Christianity has developed multiple theological frameworks—from Calvinist predestination to Arminian conditional election—attempting to reconcile divine sovereignty with human agency.

Despite their differences, all three traditions affirm that God is ultimately sovereign over His creation, that nothing happens outside His knowledge and permission, and yet human beings are genuinely responsible for their moral choices. How these truths fit together remains one of theology’s enduring mysteries, a place where human reason reaches its limits and faith must embrace paradox.

Divine Sovereignty in the Hebrew Bible

God as Absolute Sovereign

The Hebrew Bible consistently portrays God as the absolute sovereign over all creation. He is not a deity limited by fate or other cosmic forces; He is melech olam—the eternal King whose will is supreme. The psalmist declares, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3). Isaiah emphasizes God’s sovereign purpose: “The LORD Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen’…For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?” (Isaiah 14:24, 27).

This sovereignty extends to all events, including those that seem most random or insignificant. Proverbs teaches that even the casting of lots—ancient Israel’s equivalent of rolling dice—falls under divine control: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). Even more striking, God claims sovereignty over both good and disaster: “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7).

God’s sovereignty also encompasses human hearts and decisions. Proverbs states, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9), and “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). If even the king—the most powerful human—has his heart directed by God, how much more ordinary people?

The Limits of Human Understanding

The Hebrew Bible acknowledges that God’s ways often surpass human understanding. When Job demands to know why he suffers, God responds not with explanations but with questions that highlight the vast gulf between divine wisdom and human comprehension: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?…Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?” (Job 38:4, 18). Job’s response is humble submission: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

Moses teaches, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29). This verse establishes a crucial distinction: there are mysteries of divine decree that God has not revealed and that humans cannot fully understand, but God has revealed enough for us to know our responsibilities and to trust His character.

Human Responsibility Despite Divine Sovereignty

Remarkably, the Hebrew Bible’s strong affirmation of God’s sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility. The same God who declares that He does whatever He pleases also gives the law to Israel and holds them accountable for obeying it. The prophets consistently call Israel to repent and return to God, assuming their genuine ability to choose. Moses sets before Israel “life and death, blessings and curses,” and then commands, “Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19)—a meaningless exhortation if they lack genuine choice.

This creates what appears to be a paradox: God is absolutely sovereign, yet humans are genuinely responsible. The Hebrew Bible does not attempt to resolve this paradox philosophically; instead, it holds both truths in tension, trusting that in God’s wisdom they cohere even if human minds cannot fully comprehend how.

Divine Decree in Judaism

Rabbinic Teaching

The rabbis inherited this biblical tension and developed it further. The Mishnah contains a famous teaching from Rabbi Akiva: “Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is granted” (Pirkei Avot 3:15). This succinct statement captures Judaism’s approach: God’s foreknowledge is complete, yet human beings possess genuine free will. How both can be true is a mystery, but both must be affirmed.

The Talmud addresses this tension in various ways. One passage teaches that “everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven”—meaning that external circumstances are determined by God, but one’s response to those circumstances, one’s moral and spiritual choices, remain in human control. A person cannot control whether they are rich or poor, healthy or sick, but they can choose whether to fear God and obey His commandments in whatever circumstances He ordains.

Maimonides on Free Will

The medieval philosopher Maimonides addresses divine foreknowledge and human free will extensively in his writings. He insists absolutely on human free will as the foundation of moral responsibility, the entire system of divine commandments, and the concepts of reward and punishment. If humans lack free will, the entire Torah becomes meaningless.

Yet Maimonides also affirms God’s perfect foreknowledge. His solution to the apparent contradiction is to argue that God’s knowledge is qualitatively different from human knowledge. We know things as they become actual; God, being outside time, knows all things in an eternal present. His knowing does not cause events to happen or rob humans of freedom, because His knowledge is not temporal or causal in the way human knowledge is.

Maimonides’ approach influenced both Jewish and Christian theology, though not all accepted his solution. Some argued it still doesn’t fully resolve the problem; others appreciated his willingness to acknowledge the mystery while maintaining both divine omniscience and human freedom.

Divine Providence (Hashgachah Pratit)

Judaism developed the concept of hashgachah pratit—divine providence or individual supervision. This refers to God’s active involvement in the details of individual lives, not merely general oversight of the world. The degree and nature of this providence has been debated. Some, like Maimonides, taught that divine providence extends more fully to those who develop their intellect and connection to God. Others taught that God’s providence extends equally to all people in all circumstances.

Jewish thought distinguishes between God’s knowledge, God’s will, and God’s decree. God knows all things, but He doesn’t necessarily will or decree everything that happens. Some events occur because of human free will choices, which God permits even when He doesn’t desire them. This distinction allows Judaism to maintain both divine sovereignty and human freedom while avoiding making God the direct cause of evil.

Practical Piety

In practice, Judaism teaches trust in God’s providence while maintaining human responsibility. The phrase im yirtzeh Hashem—“if God wills” or “God willing”—is commonly used when speaking of future plans, acknowledging that all depends ultimately on God. Yet this doesn’t lead to fatalism but rather to a balance of effort and trust: humans should do their part, working and planning responsibly, while recognizing that success comes from God.

The High Holy Days liturgy affirms God’s sovereignty in vivid terms: God determines “who shall live and who shall die,” yet immediately follows with “But repentance, prayer, and charity avert the severe decree.” This juxtaposition captures the paradox—God decrees, yet human response can affect the outcome. Most rabbis understand this not as contradiction but as mystery: God’s decrees are not arbitrary or fixed but responsive to human action in ways we cannot fully understand.

Divine Decree in Christianity

Jesus and the Father’s Will

Jesus consistently affirmed God the Father’s sovereign will. He taught His disciples to pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In Gethsemane, facing the cross, He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). This demonstrates that even Jesus, as a human, submitted His will to the Father’s decree.

Jesus also taught that God’s providence extends to the smallest details: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29-30). Nothing is too insignificant for God’s attention and sovereign control.

Yet Jesus also affirmed human responsibility. He commanded people to repent, to believe, to follow Him—assuming their ability to respond to these commands. He held the Pharisees responsible for their rejection of Him, even while acknowledging that no one can come to Him unless drawn by the Father (John 6:44).

Predestination in Paul

The Apostle Paul develops the doctrine of divine election or predestination more explicitly than any other New Testament writer. In Romans 8-9 and Ephesians 1, Paul teaches that God chose (elected) certain individuals for salvation “before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4), that He “predestined” them for adoption as His children (Ephesians 1:5), and that this choice was not based on anything they would do but entirely on God’s sovereign purpose and grace.

Paul’s most direct treatment comes in Romans 9, where he uses the illustration of Jacob and Esau being chosen before birth, “before the twins had done anything good or bad” (Romans 9:11), to demonstrate that God’s choice is not based on human works. He quotes God’s statement to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15), and concludes, “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Paul anticipates the objection: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” (Romans 9:19). His response is not to deny the tension but to affirm God’s sovereign right as Creator: “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” (Romans 9:21).

Yet Paul also emphasizes human responsibility. He preaches the gospel assuming people can respond, urges believers to work out their salvation “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), and holds people accountable for rejecting the gospel. Like the Hebrew Bible, Paul holds divine sovereignty and human responsibility in paradoxical tension without fully resolving it.

Augustinian vs. Pelagian Frameworks

Early Christianity was forced to address these issues more systematically through the Pelagian controversy of the 5th century. Pelagius emphasized human free will and moral ability, arguing that people have the capacity to choose good and obey God’s commands. Augustine, in response, developed a comprehensive doctrine of divine grace and predestination.

Augustine taught that because of the Fall, human will is enslaved to sin and cannot choose God without His regenerating grace. God must first change the heart (regeneration) before a person can believe. This grace is irresistible and is given only to the elect—those whom God predestined for salvation before the foundation of the world. Augustine’s theology emphasized God’s absolute sovereignty in salvation from beginning to end.

The Catholic Church affirmed Augustine’s teaching on the necessity of grace but rejected his view of predestination as too extreme. Catholic theology developed the concept of “sufficient grace” given to all, which becomes “efficacious grace” when humans cooperate with it. This preserved both divine initiative (grace) and human response (free will).

Reformed vs. Arminian Theology

The Protestant Reformation reignited these debates. John Calvin and the Reformed tradition embraced Augustinian predestination, teaching that God unconditionally elected certain individuals for salvation, that Christ died particularly for the elect, that God’s grace is irresistible to the elect, and that those truly elected will persevere to the end (often summarized as the “five points of Calvinism”).

Reformed theology grounds everything in God’s eternal decree, which determines all that comes to pass for His glory. Human beings have “creaturely freedom”—they act according to their desires—but fallen humans will never desire God unless He first regenerates them. God’s decree is unconditional (not based on foreseen human choices) and efficacious (it certainly accomplishes His purposes).

Jacobus Arminius and his followers developed an alternative framework that maintained divine sovereignty while giving greater place to human free will. Arminian theology teaches that God’s election is conditional—based on His foreknowledge of who would believe—that Christ died for all people (though only believers receive salvation), that God’s grace can be resisted, and that believers can fall away from grace.

Both traditions affirm God’s sovereignty and human responsibility but emphasize them differently. Calvinism emphasizes that salvation is entirely God’s work; Arminianism emphasizes that humans genuinely choose whether to accept or reject God’s grace. The debates between these positions have continued for centuries and remain unresolved within Protestant Christianity.

Molinism and Middle Knowledge

Some Christian theologians have proposed “middle knowledge” (Molinism, after Luis de Molina) as a way to reconcile divine sovereignty and human freedom. This view holds that God knows not only what will happen, but also what would happen in every possible circumstance (counterfactuals). God then creates the world and ordains circumstances such that people freely make the choices He has decreed, without coercing their wills. This preserves both God’s sovereign control and genuine human freedom, though critics argue it still doesn’t fully resolve the mystery.

Practical Christianity

In practice, most Christians live with the paradox rather than fully resolving it. They pray for God to save people, assuming He is sovereign over salvation, yet they preach the gospel and call people to believe, assuming genuine human response. They trust God’s providence over their lives while making responsible plans and decisions. James captures this balance: “Instead you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:15)—acknowledging God’s sovereignty while making plans.

The doctrine of divine sovereignty provides comfort in suffering (God is in control even when life seems chaotic) and humility in success (we have nothing we did not receive). It drives believers to prayer (God can change circumstances) and to evangelism (God can save the hardest heart). The tension is pastoral, not just philosophical.

Divine Decree in Islam

Qadar as a Pillar of Faith

In Islamic theology, belief in divine decree (qadar or qadr) is one of the six pillars of faith (iman), alongside belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day. The famous hadith of Gabriel records the Prophet Muhammad teaching that true faith includes believing “in divine decree, both its good and its bad consequences.”

Qadar refers to Allah’s eternal knowledge and decree of all things. Before creating anything, Allah knew everything that would happen and wrote it in the al-Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet). The Prophet Muhammad taught, “The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried”—meaning Allah’s decree is complete and unchangeable.

The Quran repeatedly emphasizes that nothing happens except by Allah’s will and decree: “Say, ‘Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us’” (Quran 9:51). “No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah” (Quran 64:11). “Indeed, all things We created with predestination” (Quran 54:49). Even the timing of death is fixed: “And it is not [possible] for one to die except by permission of Allah at a decree determined” (Quran 3:145).

Four Aspects of Qadar

Islamic theology identifies four aspects or levels of divine decree:

1. Knowledge (al-‘Ilm): Allah’s perfect, eternal knowledge of all things past, present, and future. The Quran states, “And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record” (Quran 6:59).

2. Writing (al-Kitabah): Allah has written everything that will occur in the Preserved Tablet. The Quran teaches, “No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being—indeed that, for Allah, is easy” (Quran 57:22).

3. Will (al-Mashi’ah): Nothing occurs except by Allah’s will. What Allah wills happens; what He does not will does not happen. This is expressed in the frequent Quranic phrase in sha’ Allah (“if Allah wills”).

4. Creation (al-Khalq): Allah is the Creator of all things, including human actions. Nothing exists or occurs unless Allah creates it.

These four aspects establish Allah’s absolute sovereignty over all creation and all events.

The Problem of Human Responsibility

If Allah decrees all things, including human actions, how can humans be held morally responsible? This question generated intense theological debate in early Islam between the Qadariyyah (who emphasized human free will) and the Jabariyyah (who emphasized divine determinism to the point of denying meaningful human agency).

The mainstream Sunni position, articulated by scholars like al-Ash’ari, developed the doctrine of kasb (acquisition). According to this view, Allah creates all actions, but humans “acquire” them by willing them. The power to act comes entirely from Allah, but the choice or intention belongs to the human. This preserves divine sovereignty (Allah creates everything) while maintaining human responsibility (humans choose their intentions and thus “acquire” the actions Allah creates).

Critics argued this doesn’t fully resolve the problem—if Allah creates both the action and the choice, how is the human truly responsible? But mainstream Islamic theology insists both must be affirmed: Allah’s sovereignty is absolute, and human beings are genuinely accountable for their choices. The mystery of how both are true is accepted as beyond human comprehension, part of the divine wisdom humans cannot fully grasp.

The Quran on Human Choice

The Quran contains verses that emphasize human choice and responsibility alongside verses emphasizing divine sovereignty. Allah commands people to choose: “Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful” (Quran 76:3). The Quran repeatedly calls people to believe, to do good works, to repent—commands that assume genuine human agency.

A key verse balances divine and human agency: “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” (Quran 13:11). This verse is often cited to show that human effort and choice matter, even though ultimate control belongs to Allah.

Islamic theology teaches that Allah’s decree includes both His creative decree (qadar kawni)—what actually happens—and His legislative decree (qadar shar’i)—what He commands. Allah may decree that certain things happen even though He has forbidden them (like sin). The sin occurs by Allah’s creative decree (He permits it and creates the power by which it’s done), but it violates His legislative decree (His law forbids it). The person is responsible for choosing to violate Allah’s law, even though Allah decreed to permit that choice.

Practical Implications

Islamic teaching emphasizes tawakkul (trust in Allah), trusting that whatever Allah decrees is ultimately for the best. The phrase in sha’ Allah (“if Allah wills”) is used constantly in Islamic culture when speaking of future plans, acknowledging that all depends on Allah’s decree.

Yet this doesn’t lead to fatalism in the negative sense. Muslims are commanded to plan, to work, to make efforts (ikhtiyar), while trusting the results to Allah. The Prophet Muhammad taught, “Tie your camel and trust in Allah”—meaning, take practical precautions and do your part, while trusting Allah for the outcome. If someone fails to tie their camel and it wanders off, they cannot blame qadar; they should have taken responsible action.

Belief in qadar provides comfort in suffering and loss. If a loved one dies, a business fails, or disaster strikes, the Muslim can say “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” (“Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return”) and trust that Allah’s decree is wise even when incomprehensible. Nothing is random or meaningless; everything occurs by divine purpose.

At the same time, belief in qadar doesn’t eliminate grief or excuse passivity. Muslims grieve losses while trusting Allah’s wisdom. They work to improve their circumstances while accepting whatever Allah ultimately decrees. The balance is similar to that in Judaism and Christianity: vigorous human effort combined with humble submission to divine will.

The Debate Continues

Islamic theological schools continue to emphasize these doctrines differently. The Ash’ari school emphasizes divine sovereignty, the Maturidi school gives slightly more place to human agency, and some modern Muslim thinkers seek frameworks that emphasize human freedom more robustly while still affirming Allah’s ultimate sovereignty. Shi’a theology generally gives more place to human free will than classical Sunni theology.

But across all schools, belief in divine decree remains central to Islamic faith. The Muslim must believe that Allah has decreed all things, that His knowledge and power are absolute, and that nothing occurs outside His will—while simultaneously believing that humans are genuinely responsible for their choices and will be justly judged for them on the Last Day.

Comparative Themes

The Universal Paradox

All three Abrahamic faiths affirm what appears to human reason as a paradox: God is absolutely sovereign, knowing and ordaining all things, yet humans are genuinely free and morally responsible. Each tradition develops this paradox somewhat differently—Judaism emphasizing the mystery while maintaining both truths, Christianity developing systematic theologies that lean toward sovereignty (Reformed) or freedom (Arminian), Islam insisting on absolute divine decree while teaching the doctrine of acquisition (kasb).

Yet none fully resolves the mystery to human satisfaction. Each ultimately appeals to divine wisdom beyond human comprehension, trusting that what appears contradictory to finite minds coheres perfectly in the infinite mind of God.

The Pastoral Function

The doctrine of divine sovereignty serves crucial pastoral functions across all three faiths. It provides comfort in suffering—nothing happens by chance; God is in control even in chaos. It fosters humility in success—we have nothing we did not receive from God. It encourages prayer—God can change circumstances and hearts. It grounds hope—if God is sovereign, His purposes cannot ultimately be thwarted.

At the same time, all three traditions resist fatalism. Human effort matters. Choices have consequences. We are to plan, work, and strive while trusting God for the outcome. The phrase “God willing” (Hebrew im yirtzeh Hashem, Arabic in sha’ Allah, Christian “if the Lord wills”) appears across all three traditions, acknowledging divine sovereignty while making responsible human plans.

Theodicy: If God Decrees All, Why Evil?

The question of evil poses a particular challenge to strong doctrines of divine sovereignty. If God decrees all things, doesn’t He decree evil? And if so, isn’t He the author of evil, and how can He justly judge people for doing what He decreed?

Each tradition grapples with this:

Judaism distinguishes between God’s permission and God’s direct will. God allows evil through human free will without directly causing it. God can bring good from evil (as in Joseph’s story: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good,” Genesis 50:20) without being the author of the evil intention.

Christianity similarly distinguishes between God’s directive will and His permissive will. God ordains that certain things occur through human sin (like Christ’s crucifixion), yet the human actors are fully responsible for their sinful choices. God uses even rebellion against His law to accomplish His purposes, without Himself being tainted by evil.

Islam affirms that both good and evil come from Allah: “Say, ‘All [things] are from Allah’” (Quran 4:78). Yet Allah is not unjust. He has commanded good and forbidden evil, and people are responsible for choosing which to follow. That Allah creates evil doesn’t mean He loves it or commands it; rather, He permits it for wise purposes, including testing people, manifesting His justice, and making His mercy known through forgiveness.

None of these explanations fully satisfies the philosophical problem, but all maintain that God is both sovereign and good, that evil is real and wrong, and that humans are responsible for their moral choices.

Foreknowledge vs. Predestination

A related question is whether God merely foreknows what will happen or actively predetermines it. Some in each tradition distinguish these:

• Simple foreknowledge: God knows what will happen but doesn’t cause it. He knows all future free choices without determining them.
• Predetermination: God doesn’t merely know but decrees what will happen. His knowledge is based on His decree.

Judaism tends toward simple foreknowledge (though affirming God’s sovereignty to intervene as He wills). Christianity is divided, with Arminians emphasizing foreknowledge and Calvinists emphasizing predestination. Islam strongly emphasizes predetermination—Allah’s knowledge is based on His eternal decree, not merely on foresight of what would otherwise happen.

The debates over these alternatives continue, with each side arguing the other doesn’t fully preserve either divine sovereignty or human freedom.

Modern Challenges

Science and Determinism

Modern science, particularly neuroscience and physics, has raised new questions about determinism. If brain chemistry determines our choices, do we have free will? If the universe operates according to deterministic physical laws, is there room for divine sovereignty or human agency?

Believers in divine sovereignty might argue that God’s sovereignty operates through natural laws and brain processes—He ordained not just outcomes but means. Others distinguish between physical determinism and personal agency, arguing that even if our brains operate deterministically, we are still morally responsible agents.

The Problem of Injustice

If God has decreed all things, including who will believe and be saved, how is this just? Why would He create people He has decreed will reject Him and be damned? This question troubles many, particularly in Christian debates over predestination.

Responses vary: some appeal to mystery and trust in God’s justice even when we can’t understand it; some argue that all people deserve judgment, so God is merciful to save any; some adopt frameworks (like Molinism or Arminianism) that give more place to human choice; some reinterpret hell or judgment in ways that seem less harsh.

Balancing Trust and Effort

In practical life, balancing divine sovereignty and human responsibility remains challenging. Does trust in God’s provision mean we shouldn’t buy insurance or save for retirement? Does belief in divine decree mean we shouldn’t seek medical treatment? Most believers in all three traditions say no—we should take responsible action while trusting God.

But where exactly to draw the line remains debatable. When does prudent planning become lack of faith? When does trust become presumption or laziness? Religious communities continue to wrestle with these applications.

Significance

The doctrine of divine decree addresses ultimate questions: Who is really in control? Does my life have purpose and meaning, or is it random chaos? Can I trust that there is a wise plan even when circumstances seem senseless?

All three Abrahamic faiths answer: God is sovereign. Nothing is random. Nothing is meaningless. Even suffering and evil, which God does not cause in a morally culpable sense, occur within His providential purposes and will ultimately serve His good and wise ends.

Yet this sovereignty doesn’t eliminate human agency or responsibility. We are not puppets or robots. Our choices matter. We are accountable. The call to believe, to obey, to repent, to love God and neighbor—these are genuine calls to real choices with eternal consequences.

How both can be true—God’s absolute sovereignty and human genuine responsibility—remains a mystery. It’s a place where finite human reason reaches its limits. But it’s a mystery that believers across all three traditions embrace, not because it’s comfortable or fully comprehensible, but because Scripture teaches it and experience confirms it.

In practice, belief in divine sovereignty produces a distinctive way of living: planning and working diligently, yet holding plans loosely, saying “God willing”; grieving losses, yet trusting divine wisdom; praying earnestly, yet submitting to divine will; striving for holiness, yet depending on divine grace. It’s a life of vigorous effort and humble submission, of human responsibility nested within divine sovereignty.

Perhaps most importantly, the doctrine of divine decree means nothing is outside God’s care. The hairs on our heads are numbered. The sparrow’s fall is known. The apparently random and the genuinely tragic are not beyond God’s knowledge or outside His purposes. In a world that often feels chaotic and meaningless, this is profound comfort: the Lord reigns, His purposes will stand, and He will accomplish all that He pleases—and what He pleases, ultimately, is good.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).