{"id":352,"date":"2009-12-07T19:12:01","date_gmt":"2009-12-08T01:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mgmorrow.com\/IronSharpensIron\/?p=352"},"modified":"2012-11-10T04:49:44","modified_gmt":"2012-11-10T10:49:44","slug":"0148-is-god-in-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mgmorrow.com\/IronSharpensIron\/2009\/12\/07\/0148-is-god-in-control\/","title":{"rendered":"0148 — IS God “in control?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

God\u2019s will does not always come to pass<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Does that sound\u2026 wrong\u2026 somehow?<\/p>\n

How many times have we heard, though normally stated in softer, more compassionate terms, \u201cJust get over it!\u00a0 It happened<\/em>, so it was obviously God\u2019s will; accept it and get on with your life!\u201d?<\/p>\n

Sometimes it takes the form of, \u201cDon\u2019t grieve about the loss of your child, God just needed another angel and called your child to Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes it sounds like, \u201cOf course it was God\u2019s will that people flew those airplanes into those office buildings; they could not have done it were it not God\u2019s will!\u201d<\/p>\n

Or have you heard, \u201cThat storm drowned all those people because they lived in such a sinful city!\u00a0 It was God\u2019s punishment for their sin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why would I suggest that God\u2019s will is not the answer to everything that happens on the earth?\u00a0 Well, because He told me so.\u00a0 And He told you too.<\/p>\n

The Bible is replete with references to the will of God.\u00a0 One such verse is 2 Peter 3:9, where the Lord uses Peter to tell us that it is not His will that \u201cany should perish, but that all should come to repentance.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:13-14 to “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.<\/p>\n

What is the will of God?\u00a0 That all be saved<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What will happen?\u00a0 Only a few will be saved<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Does the will of God come to pass in this instance?\u00a0 No<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Does that mean when we see tragedy occur we can say that it was NOT God\u2019s will?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 But it does mean that we can not automatically say, \u201cIt happened, so it was the will of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does this mean that God is not all-powerful, or that God is not \u201cin control?\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s consider those two points separately.<\/p>\n

Is God all-powerful?\u00a0 Omnipotent?\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 Without question.<\/p>\n

Does that mean He forces you to make good choices?\u00a0 That He prevents consequences of your actions from coming about?\u00a0 That He prevents consequences of sin in a person\u2019s life from affecting bystanders innocent of that sin?\u00a0 In other words, does the omnipotence of God mean that He prevents bad things from happening to good people?\u00a0 (We\u2019ll forego discussion that our definition of \u201cgood\u201d does not align with Jesus\u2019 definition of \u201cgood\u201d in Luke 18:18.)\u00a0 The answer is \u201cNo!\u201d to each question.<\/p>\n

Does He WANT you to make good choices?\u00a0 YES.\u00a0 Does He MAKE you choose wisely?\u00a0 NO.<\/p>\n

Does He abhor what Satan has done in this world by introducing sin and its wages?\u00a0 YES.\u00a0 Does He prevent sin, and eliminate its consequences?\u00a0 NO.<\/p>\n

What about the \u201cin control\u201d comment?\u00a0 Is God in control?\u00a0 By definition, God\u2019s omnipotence means that He is indeed \u201cin control.\u201d\u00a0 Perhaps the more relevant issue though is, \u201cDoes He choose to exercise<\/em> that control?\u201d\u00a0 Hmmm\u2026<\/p>\n

Consider Ephesians 6:12:<\/p>\n

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.<\/p>\n

What are (who are) \u201cthe rulers of the darkness of this world?\u201d\u00a0 What does \u201crule\u201d mean?\u00a0 Might \u201ccontrol\u201d be a good definition?<\/p>\n

Was God \u201cin control\u201d of you the last time you disobeyed His will?<\/p>\n

Was God \u201cin control\u201d of the drunk who killed the parents of a 3-year-old and crippled her for life?<\/p>\n

Was God \u201cin control\u201d of the men who took over the airplanes on September 11, 2001?<\/p>\n

Well, what about Romans 8:28?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t it say there that everything that happens is good?\u00a0 NO, it does not say that.\u00a0 It DOES say that whatever DOES happen, God is able to work out for good.\u00a0 Does it say that we will be able to understand the good that He works out?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Does it say that \u201cthe good\u201d will come about in our lifetime?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 This verse bears testimony that in the universal, grand, cosmic sense, God is indeed fully \u201cin control\u201d \u2013 else the promise that He can work \u201call things for good\u201d could not be true.\u00a0 But it also bears testimony to the fact that He does NOT control the individual actions of every person, else there would be no \u201cbad things\u201d He would need to work towards good!<\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember the source of this quote that I found a while back, but it expresses so well this concept:\u00a0 \u201cGod\u2019s will does not prevent tragedy, but transforms it.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may think that I\u2019ve avoided the real point to all this, the underlying question that can not help but be raised, and that is:\u00a0 \u201cBut then why do bad things happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a one-word answer to that:\u00a0 Sin.<\/p>\n

We live in a fallen world.\u00a0 A cursed world.\u00a0 Because of sin.\u00a0 (Read the first few chapters of Genesis again.)\u00a0 And the creation groans<\/em> because of it.\u00a0 Even the saved, the redeemed, groan<\/em> as we wait for our redemption.<\/p>\n

Can God act in our behalf in this cursed world?\u00a0 Definitely<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Does<\/em> God act in our behalf in this cursed world?\u00a0 Again, absolutely<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Does everything that happens in this cursed world:<\/p>\n