Crestview teen dies in crash & God is still Sovereign

The headline of Mansfield’s New Journal Wednesday morning caught me off guard because I graduated from the school in Ohio. The reason I took a second look at the article was because I recognized one of the names. The name was Garret Mullet, the son of my youth/associate pastor when I grew up in Ohio. The article stated, “the vehicle driven by Garrett D. Mullett, 16, of Ashland, was traveling east on County Road 956…”

But article went on to say,

“Megan Jenkins, 15, of Mansfield, was a front-seat passenger when the 1998 Chrysler Sebring she was riding in slid off the south edge of the snow-covered road and struck a guard rail on County Road 956 in Clear Creek Township, the post reported. Jenkins was transported to MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital and later died as a result of her injuries.”

Oh how my heart broke for this young-man I knew of. I did not know much of, I did not know personally, but I just knew of him through his father who played a major role in my teen years. However, I stopped and thought what could I tell this teen, what would I tell this teen, was the same thing I’d tell anyone in any circumstance, to enjoy the sovereignty of God.

Daniel 4:34-35 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Ephesians 1:11-12 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

The sovereignty of God must be boasted in because God, reigning over all creation, reveals His pre-eminence and shows the finiteness of humanity in its ability to know and control things.

Of all the doctrines regarding the attributes of God, His sovereignty is by far the most necessary for the understanding of His character. As believers, this is crucial to living a life of glorifying God to the utmost. The understanding that God is in control over all creation makes it easy to boast in Him. Without the understanding of His control, there is no room for boasting in God. Not knowing that the God who created all things is in control of all things can build a huge barrier to boasting in His control. Being able to boast in such a divine truth that God is in control and is overlord of all things brings the believer to his knees in worship of the Creator’s supremacy over everything. In A.W. Pink’s great work, The Sovereignty of God, he states:

“The sovereignty of God! What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the Godhead of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What does Thou?”

This gospel truth of the character of God provokes nothing but humility in man. God is the only being that has total control over all things, and therefore deserves to be boasted in more than anything else in this world. Man must look away from himself during troubles, afflictions, trials and suffering. To grasp the concept that God is in control over these areas of life brings the most glory to His being.

To boast in God’s sovereignty is not only to understand or know that God is in control and appoints all things for a reason, but more so, to find it satisfying to the soul. This is how believers can grow in the gospel, knowing that their Creator has a purpose; for the glorification of Himself. When life’s struggles start to eat away at the soul, a gospel-centered individual will first look to the sovereignty of God. No matter what health concerns men may have, they still have the sovereignty of God. No matter what financial concerns may arise in the life of believers, they still trust in God’s perfect control of everything on this earth. No matter what they lose – house, pets, kids, parents, spouse, etc., God knows, and has allowed all of this, to give Himself the glory so that they would find Him to be the highest treasure in the midst of all events, good or bad. One of the greatest areas to boast of in the sovereignty of God is the fact that humans do not always have control. Knowing that there is a Maker of the heavens and earth, and that He holds them in His hand, deserves the uttermost glorifications. As Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” God’s sovereignty must be boasted in because man’s nature cannot – nor will ever – have the ability to be in control over all events, issues and circumstances in life. Realizing that God has allowed suffering and hardship for the sake of His name is when boasting in the sovereignty of God best glorifies Him. God, therefore, allows hardships, trials, suffering, and situations in which every man does not want to deal with, because only then can they see God in control over all things and there find gratification in knowing that they can enjoy the sovereignty of God.