Tim Keller writes:
…There are an increasing number of theologians who are so glad to emphasize the suffering of God that they lose the idea of divine sovereignty, depicting God as one who is not all-powerful and not able to stop suffering in the world.
Some might argue that suffering and pain are only ever caused by the Devil, or by our own foolishness and particular sins, or by the randomness that comes from living in a fallen world. However, if this were true, then God is certainly not sovereign; he is powerless to prevent the Devil or human beings from exerting their will. Then God is forever reacting with a “Plan B” in response to each action or decision brought about by humans or by the Devil.
Ronald Rittgers writes: “The idea that God has a causal relationship to adversity and misfortune is rejected by many contemporary theologians. The notion of God as co-sufferer is welcomed, but the idea of God as agent of suffering is shunned.” But, Rittgers adds, “the God who has no causal relationship to suffering is no God at all, certainly not the God of the Bible . . . who is both suffering and sovereign. Both beliefs were (and are) essential to the traditional Christian assertion that suffering ultimately has some meaning.”
Keller continues:
That is absolutely right. If God is out of control of history, then suffering is not part of any plan; it is random and senseless. …If God were somehow limited or out of control, his suffering would not be so radically voluntary — and therefore not so fully motivated by love.
(Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Chapter 7)
Jesus’ suffering on the cross was foreordained, and part of God’s plan, not some random result of human history. God was in control of Christ’s crucifixion, just as he is in control of all human history, including every trial, pain, and experience of suffering that we encounter.