We say the phrase so often, and often sincerely…”God is in control.” It brings us a measure of comfort…we can lean on His sovereignty and believe He will work everything out for our good. He will take care of all that happens in our lives. But, I have started to hear Christian cliches through the ears of those severely wounded by events in their lives. Victims of sex trafficking….mass shootings….abuse, etc. What does a woman who has recently been rescued after 6 years of being trafficked to 20 men/day think when she is told, “God is in control. He works in mysterious ways.”? Does she find comfort in those words? When Adam Lanza shot 20 first graders, did those parents whose children were gunned down find refuge in the knowledge that God is in control? The 17 year old young woman whose mother set her ablaze…as she was recovering from her horrific burns…was she comforted with the realization that God is in control? I am finding less and less comfort in these words…and am no longer convinced of their truth.
When we believe God is in absolute control, it creates a dark, confusing picture of a God who blesses, provides, protects, heals, and so forth…but who is also behind abortion, rape, murder, incest, genocide, war and every other evil. In an effort to make sense of it, we too often attribute tragedies, such as mass shootings, or even natural disasters, to the judgment of God. And we are confused as to how to respond…if we assist the victims of disasters, are we working with or against God?
The Bible does not say God is in control…it says that He is sovereign. We have equated sovereignty with control. But, sovereignty does not mean control….it means “to reign.” It is more like a king sitting on a throne. He is sovereign over his land…but doesn’t control everything that happens. Both good and bad happens in his land. The land is filled with ambassadors, and people who have a relationship with Him…who want the good of the land. But, it also is home to rebels, evildoers, and those bent on destroying the land.The one one the throne…the sovereign…has ultimate authority and is powerful, but he is not the one causing all that happens in the land.
If God is in control….do we have the freedom to choose if God is in control?
If God is in control of everything that happens to me…then He is the one who orchestrates the sin of myself and others whose sin affects me.
If God is in control…then He is the one to blame for the state of the world.
If God is in control…He knows everything that will happen…and will bring to pass everything He foreknows…why pray?
When you boil it down…the problem with absolute sovereignty is that it does not make sense…God orchestrates everything then punishes those who do that which He has orchestrated…this thinking has caused many to become atheists because they cannot accept that kind of God. Others cannot enter into an intimate relationship with God if He is the one who controlled the events of their lives. If God is in control of rape, murder, mass shootings, then He cannot be trusted…He is not safe.
God is not in control…though He could be…but He is still in charge. Those who believe God is not in control, but in charge come to a different conclusion regarding evil and tragedy….WARFARE WORLDVIEW. Mass shootings, rape, genocide, murder occur…not because of God’s judgment or because God orchestrated it…but because we are in a war against an enemy…because sin and death is still in the air…and the prince of the air seeks to destroy. We are God’s ambassadors and have authority to do something about the evil. So the question is no longer, “Why did God let this happen?” but “Why did we let this happen?” It creates real ownership and personal responsibility. We can join hands with Him and work to end the evil and bring good to the tragedies that occur in our lives and the lives of others.
God is not in control because God is love…love does not do control. Control is born of fear…and God does not fear. He is confident in His power of persuasion. He is deeply in love with His children and seeks an intimate relationship in which two beings respond to one another out of love rather than a need to control.
Back to the trafficking victim…she can know that, though God did not control what happened to her, neither is He powerless in the midst of it. Despite all the evil that happened to her at the hands of men, God can bring it to good if she allows Him…the two of them working together to take what the enemy designed to destroy her and use it to destroy the enemy…with God she can more than overcome…more than survive her ordeal.
It comes down to the type of relationship we believe we have with God…monergistic or synergistic. Is God in control(monergism)? Or, are we working together(synergism), hand-in-hand to advance His Kingdom?
Good job, Tammi! Couldn't agree more