Nothing Escapes His Hands: God’s Decree, God’s Permission, and Comfort in Suffering

When we read about the death of Lazarus (John 11), there is a detail in the text that stands out in stark contrast with much of the mainstream theology of our day. Jesus, being told about the deadly illness His beloved friend Lazarus is battling, intentionally delays going to see him. And He says that this illness does not lead to death. Then later, Jesus announces Lazarus’ death to His disciples and says that He was glad He was not there to heal him, for the sake of their faith.

Now, is there a place in our theology where pain, suffering, death, and mourning can be ordained (decreed) for the glory of God and for the strengthening of faith? Because many times we only allow ourselves two false categories: either God loves us and therefore must do all He can to prevent suffering in our lives, or God is committed to His glory and His purposes, and therefore does not really care about our suffering at all. And both are false.

The way many people try to solve this problem is by (often unintentionally) weakening either God’s sovereignty or His holiness. Sometimes we say God permits evil and suffering, and we frame it in a way that sounds like bare allowance or passive watching, which weakens His sovereignty. And other times, some emphasize God’s decrees in a way that weakens His holiness, almost making it sound as if God is the active cause of evil, harm, or sin — as if He does not really care about evil, or even approves of it, or enjoys it. And this is deeply problematic as well.

So let me help refine these categories, so we can understand and speak of God faithfully, and balance this apparent tension that exists between God sovereignly decreeing things and, at the same time, being a good and holy God.

First, what is God’s decree? We can simply define God’s decree as His eternal, sovereign, comprehensive plan by which He has ordained whatsoever comes to pass (think of Eph. 1:11). Nothing falls outside of it — including good, evil, free human actions, natural events, and redemptive history. Nothing happens outside His decree.

Now, very importantly, God’s decree is executed through means. His plans and purposes are established by many means, and often in unexpected ways. Some of these means include ordinary providence (natural laws and ordinary causes), free and responsible human actions, miracles, and restraining or withdrawing restraint (permission).

So, we need to understand God’s permission as a mode of God’s decree, not something outside of it. God wills not to hinder certain acts and events. So, think of it this way:

• He decrees to allow it to occur (God wills to permit, or God sovereignly permits).

• He withholds the restraining grace He could have given.

• He orders and governs it for His holy purposes.

• Yet He does not morally approve of it or directly cause it as sin.

So God is never merely reacting to evil — He is always ruling over it. However, God orders even what He hates for holy purposes.

The cross of Christ is the greatest example of this. The crucifixion of Christ was decreed (Acts 2:23; 4:27–28) and yet carried out through wicked hands, which God permitted and governed without being morally culpable. And the cross, in the end, brings God’s holy and good plans and purposes for creation to their fulfillment.

In God’s economy, His highest priority is His own glory, and one of the chief ways He glorifies Himself is by strengthening and deepening our faith in Him. In our human economy today, comfort and self-preservation often seem to be at the top of the list. So not only do we need to understand that God sovereignly permits things for His holy purposes, but we also need to learn that His plans are not our plans, and His priorities are not our priorities. But we Christians do well to become more like God here, putting first what He puts first — and that will help us in our wrestling with suffering.

Of course, none of this makes suffering and evil good or pleasing. But it does give a reason and meaning to it. And here is where we begin to find true comfort: not through a painless existence, but in knowing that our God is working for our good, even when it hurts.

For the Christian, God’s decrees are a grounding truth, because we trust His character. It is deeply comforting to know that nothing escapes His control — history is not random, and our lives are not at the mercy of chaos.

At the same time, the truth that God permits certain things guards us from thinking that God is the active cause of evil, harm, or sin. This distinction helps us hold together two truths: God is truly sovereign, and God is truly good. He is never the author of sin. He cares, He is near, and He is the source of all goodness. And that is what we clearly see at play in the story of Lazarus we mentioned earlier.

May God strengthen our trust in His sovereign arms, that we would learn to fully rely on Him, and find comfort and joy in knowing that nothing escapes His plans.

Nino Marques