Jesus reminded his disciples that their safety was not found in the comforts of this world but in the control of a sovereign God over this world. Jesus asked his disciples, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”12 We can rest confident in the fact that nothing will happen to us in this world apart from the gracious will of a sovereign God. Nothing.
This is what I love about Stephen in the book of Acts. According to Scripture, he was the first Christian martyr. As we learn in Acts 7, he was stoned by the Sanhedrin religious council—a remarkable picture of what it means to share in the sufferings of Christ.13 But what is even more remarkable in this story is what happened as a result of Stephen’s death. Luke wrote, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” Then Luke wrote three verses later, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”14 In other words, as a result of Stephen’s suffering and death, the church multiplied throughout Judea and Samaria.
Do you see what was happening here? Satan’s strategy to stop God’s people through the stoning of Stephen only served to accomplish God’s purpose through the scattering of the church.
This is the testimony of all Scripture. From the story of Job to Paul’s description of Satan’s attack in his life in 2 Corinthians 12, we see how Satan not only acts within the sovereign permission of God but also ends up accomplishing the sovereign purposes of God. Indeed, this is what the Cross is all about. Satan’s strategy to defeat the Son of God only served to provide salvation for sinners.
We have nothing to fear, because God is sovereign.