He is our Creator and has demonstrated His grace by giving us the gift of life itself. He has also given each of us aptitudes, talents, and natural gifts according to His purpose. But we must also acknowledge that our natural deficiencies, whether they are physical, intellectual, or emotional, are part of His mysterious providence in forming who we are for His glory.

My favorite verse of my favorite chapter of my favorite book in the Bible is Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” I “stumbled” across this verse more than forty years ago in my first year as a believer, and it has been a great comfort throughout my adult life. Its comfort is found in the fact that nothing that happens in my life is random but that the Lord is mysteriously working it all out for good. While this verse has brought comfort to many, one cannot overlook the underlying principle if its promise is to be reliable. It is only possible if God is absolutely sovereign over all things. Another translation puts it even more directly when it says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good” (Rom. 8:28, NASB). He cannot possibly cause all things to work together for good unless everything is under His sovereign direction. And it’s not just all things, but it’s for all of our lives.

The first chapter of His sovereign working in our lives begins even before we are born. The psalmist writes:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. (Ps. 139:13–15)

Read More