God is in control. I’ve heard that statement a thousand times. It’s commonly echoed as a hopeful sentiment in turmoil. We default to affirm each other with the assurance that “God is in control.” No one ever doubts that God lost control, so why do we hope to find comfort in this thought? Is God really in control? If God is in control, why do tragedies plague the lives of so many that He loves?
I read that statement in an article a few days ago, and I paused after the sentence to consider what it really means. I don’t intend to diminish God’s vast power. Yet I wonder if many times we attribute things to God’s control when he has put the “control” in our hands.
“God is in control.” It’s not much of a consolation to me, and I think many believers may feel the same. I’m not writing to criticize the hopeful, but rather to make hope a little more tangible.
I think of the dozens of “situations” that I have journeyed through with friends over the years. From divorces to diseases, insomnia, addictions, and cancers. The list could go on and on. I think about each tragedy, and I cannot resign any of them to the trivial thought that God was somehow “in control.” To do so, at least for me, would be a way of saying, “God, this is really your doing.” I fully understand the omnipotent nature of God and His full capability to do tremendous wonders. So why do tragedies interrupt the lives of so many sincere believers? The answer, I believe, unfolds a greater truth for every follower of Jesus. I am not saying that I have the answer to the “why God?” question, but I think somewhere between a pious resignation to fate and casting the blame on God’s providence stands the clear answer of a believer’s responsibility. We have been given a mandate since Jesus’ ascension to bring His manifest Presence into our broken world of traumas and tragedies.
God is in control, but He has placed the “control” of authority into our hands. Our inability to realize the power we hold as the children of God does reflect poorly on His sovereign rule. This is not a blame game. It’s a literal power struggle between believing in the power that Jesus gave to us and the religious lie of being powerless. Tragedies can push us to blame God, blame ourselves, or look past blaming to owning and fighting for what is rightfully given to us.
When you know and experience the constant love of the Father, He shows you His perfect will. From that place of knowing the truth, you can walk in freedom to proclaim and exercise your given authority against the enemy of your life. How do you experience God’s perfect will in your life? It begins by knowing it. It begins by believing that He really wants the best for you.
Radically believing that God’s desire for your life is good in the face of evil is where the war rages. The battle hinges on believing in His will over the contradicting lies of sickness, poverty, bondage, and hopelessness. God challenges us to choose a side. In choosing to believe that His plans for you are good, you initiate a battle to believe the truth. God is in control, and the one He has chosen to enforce His control through is you.
stephensamuel.org 
Dear Stephen,
FINALLY!!! Some people are starting to see the truth. This idea, which is an idea that is embraced by ALL the world’s “great religions”, is exactly that – a religious idea. It shows a complete and total misunderstanding about Jesus. If God is truly in control then Jesus spent the last 3 ½ years of His life going around and constantly violating the will of God. Or to put it another way, Jesus, while here on the earth, was one of the greatest sinners of all time. I know that sounds strong but there is no other way to look at it. If God is in control, i.e. whatever happens in this life is His will, then sickness and disease is His will. Trying to avoid or stop the will of God is called “sin”. JESUS DID THAT CONSTANTLY (Matthew 4:23-24, Matthew 8:16-17, Matthew 9:35, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:29-31, Matthew 19:1-2). If life threatening storms are God’s will, then again, Jesus violated God’s will by stopping them (Mark 4:35-39, Luke 8:22-25). If it’s God’s will for children to die, then again, Jesus violated God’s will (Mark 5:35-42, Luke 7:11-16). If it’s God’s will for thousands of families to be without food, then again, Jesus violated God’s will (Matthew 14:15-21, Matthew 15:32-38). So we have a major problem. Not only did He violate God’s will, but He actually trained and ordered all 82 of His disciples to violate God’s will (Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:1&9). After His ascension apparently His followers continued to violate God’s will. The book of Acts makes this crystal clear.
If we truly believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, then to hear many people, God contradicts Himself constantly. But what did He say to Philip in John 14:8-10? “Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father (meaning God), and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long (meaning 3 ½ years), and yet you have not known Me, Philip? HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; SO HOW CAN YOU SAY, ‘SHOW US THE FATHER’? (Apparently even Philip had a hard time ridding himself of this religious idea that whatever happens in life is God’s will.) “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” And let’s not forget Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.”
The bottom line is this, either God is a good God or He isn’t. You can’t have it both ways. Well, I guess you can if you want to be “religious”. You see religion breeds double mindedness. We can’t on the one hand stand against a great evil, for example murder, and at the same time believe the idea that God is in control. Because if He is truly in control, then it’s His will for people to be murdered. Does that make a lot of sense? No, it doesn’t. And that’s the idea behind religion. And religion is the exact opposite of a relationship.
Thank God you are bringing light on an extremely dangerous and dark idea. Many will not agree with you, or will want to argue with you, but that’s OK. That is also something else that Jesus experienced. So you are in great company!
With Love,
Cincinnati Christian
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