Divine Sovereignty in Proverbs

There is no such thing as luck, and there are no random occurrences.

God rules the universe, both in the whole and in its smallest parts. Even the tiniest occurrences in this world, events that seem random, are under God’s directional control:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. —Proverbs 16:33

Even the smallest occurrences in life fit perfectly into the larger picture of God’s eternal purpose. Nothing is accidental or random. Everything is intentional and purposeful, carried out with divine design. Bridges writes that the casting of the lot “is an acknowledgment of absolute Sovereignty; giving up our personal responsibility, and virtually appealing to an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God. It teaches us, that things that we conceive to be accident are really under Providence. ‘What is chance to man is the appointment of God.’” Simply put, even things that may appear to be chance occurrences are, in fact, under God’s control.

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 152.