In order for anyone to be a king he must possess absolute authority and all Power. A king must have the right to rule, and the ability to carry out his will. God spoke through Isaiah, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:9-10). God is a unique King in that his reign is eternal. Psalm 29:10 confirms this fact: “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.” God’s sovereignty means that all of life’s experiences are orchestrated by Him to produce that which is for our good. Biblical counseling follows the Word of God and seeks to minister the sovereignty of the living God, whose reign deals with sin and produces obedience.

The Apostle Paul makes a bold declaration in his letter to the Roman believers:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30).

The entire process from the beginning to the end of the Christian’s life is described here. It begins with God’s sovereign election or choice and ends with God’s divinely purposed conclusion — our glorification.

Sovereignty in relation to God means that God has the absolute right to do with His creation as He desires (Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35). God declares that He does what He wants in heaven and on earth. God is all knowing, all powerful, and all present. There is nothing that is outside of God's knowledge, ability, and presence.

This attribute of God’s total sovereignty over creation must be taught and established early in the counseling sessions. Otherwise, the counselee will have no hope of change. Hope in the scriptures is always a confident expectation, and this sense of confidence will not be present without a good understanding of God’s sovereignty in the affairs of His people. Genuine biblical counseling must uphold the absolute sovereign power of God. It is a fatal error to say that a perfect, omnipotent, sovereign, and totally self-conscious God can deliver us from hell, but is powerless to heal, restore or transform lives in the meantime. Either God is absolutely sovereign, or He is not God. If He is absolutely sovereign, then He is God, and His absolute capacity to change people cannot be denied. Biblical counselors must view human experience as always transpiring within the realm of God’s sovereignty. Whether the suffering is physical or emotional, it should be viewed in the context in which the Holy Spirit equips, empowers, and encourages people to live Christ in all things despite the circumstances. Counseling that ignores the sovereignty of God in all circumstances ultimately seeks to make sense of reality independent of the greater reality of God’s divine purposes.