Over the past week, I have been reflecting deeply on the sovereignty of God. I know that He can change, block, or thwart the evil plans of man (Job 5:12). God could have stopped it, and He could have still used it without it being fatal.

According to Wikipedia, “Sovereignty of God in Christianity can be defined as the right of God to exercise His ruling power over His creation.”

Here is some of the information provided in my Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) notes regarding sovereignty: “When we say God is sovereign, we recognize His control over His universe and all outcomes to accomplish His wise purposes. God’s sovereignty harmonizes all His unlimited attributes, such as His power, wisdom, authority, and goodness. The truth of God’s sovereignty provides stabilizing context for our lives and eternity.”

We often think we control our lives. We live each day as if it isn’t our last. We take for granted that we will have tomorrow to see someone or say something. We wrestle with the idea of fully living today. We fear what happened this week, but we don’t fear it enough to change our habits or behaviors.

Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

It’s hard for our hearts and minds to grasp that no one dies “early.” Someone may die young or sooner than we expected, but never in a way that surprises God or causes Him to change His mind about the length of their life. Charlie Kirk lived his life in such a way that he packed more into 31 years than most of us can fathom. I don’t think for a moment that he knew he would die on Wednesday, but he died doing exactly what God was calling him to do.

We struggle to comprehend how the plans of evil can exist alongside the sovereignty of God. We readily recognize His power and sovereignty when the outcome is good, but we struggle to rest in His sovereignty when the outcome involves suffering. We resist submitting to His sovereignty, even though His sovereignty does not depend on our willingness to submit.

This past week, I’ve watched far too many clips on social media and consumed too much information from too many sources. I’ve been struck by how tragedy reveals whether or not we already have a solid theological foundation in place. Sometimes this foundation is built early in life because we’ve experienced sudden loss or tragedy. For others, God has given the opportunity to learn submission and rest in His sovereignty when the circumstances were simply too big to understand on our own.

And then the question of “Why?” always comes up. Since I believe that God is sovereign—and that He could have stopped what happened in this situation, or in any situation—I often wonder: Why didn’t He? And what is His ultimate plan?

That’s where the door of faith opens, complementing my belief in God’s sovereignty.

My dad’s favorite verse was Hebrews 11:1, which says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith quiets our questions, calms our hearts and minds, and helps us rest in the knowledge of God’s sovereignty.