Is God Really in Control?
When bad things happen, many Christians explain these difficult-to-understand events by saying something like, “It must have been God’s will.”
But is that really true?
Does being God mean being in control? This is the default definition for godhood that many of us hold, but this understanding of God’s sovereignty does not align with what the Bible says about God’s rulership over the world and in our lives.
The question is: Is God in control, or is God in charge? Control implies absolute control over every event that happens. Nothing happens apart from God’s will; thus, everything that happens is his will.
The Bible offers us a different view of God’s sovereignty (see John 10:10; James 1:13–17; 1 Tim. 2:3–4; 2 Pet. 3:9; also my post: Does God’s Will always Happen?).
He does not control every action, but he is still God almighty. We can understand this by defining God’s sovereignty as being in charge, not in control. Being in charge speaks of authority. God has absolute authority over the earth, just as a king or queen has absolute authority over his or her domain.
In a sovereign monarchy, the ruler’s will is law. But that does not mean the ruler’s will is always obeyed. Every kingdom contains those who choose to disobey. They do so in hopes that they will not be caught, but they know the sovereign ruler has the authority to hold them accountable for their crimes if they are caught.
In God’s kingdom, all people have choices about whether they will submit to God’s authority and rulership or not. Ultimately, if they do not repent of their evil choices and receive Christ’s forgiveness, they will be held accountable after they die. But that promise of accountability does not mean they are not able to make wrong and even evil choices. So much of the pain in the world results from people’s sinful choices (other people’s and our own). Those sinful choices and the resulting pain are not God’s will.
I believe the toxic “everything that happens is God’s will” teaching originates in the human fear of pain and mystery. Allowing people to grapple with their pain, to truly walk through it without dismissing or repressing it, is a scary and messy prospect. We can’t control that process or the outcome. We can’t offer them easy, one-size answers to explain it all away.
Instead, we have to trust God to walk with them and get them to the other side. Christians are not great at this. We don’t like feeling out of control. We are terrified of people’s process. So the idea that God controls everything and we just need to blindly accept it as what’s best for us meets that need for simple answers. The problem is, it’s just not true, and it doesn’t work.
Instead of telling people that their pain is a result of God’s will for their lives, let’s tell them the truth—that God grieves with them. He never left or abandoned them, even in the darkest moments. And he is the redeemer who brings good even out of our worst moments.
In Psalm 23, David described God as a shepherd guiding him through times of blessing and abundance (green pastures and still waters), as well as times of sorrow and danger (the valley of the shadow of death).
It’s important to know that God goes with us even into the valley where death seems to overshadow us. In those dark places, God comforts us with his rod and staff (symbols of his guidance and protection) and enables us to declare, “I fear no evil” (Ps. 23:4)—not because evil doesn’t come, but because God walks with us through it all and gives us the courage and comfort we need.
Not only that, but God introduces blessing and feasting for us in the midst of our trials (prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies). He doesn’t wait until we have fully overcome; he declares a celebration, a victory feast, even as we are face-to-face with our enemies, and he anoints us to the point of overflow.
When we know that God’s goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives, whether we are in green pastures or valleys of death, we enter into the truth of David’s declaration: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6). This house is not the promise of heaven, and it is not a church building or temple. The house of the Lord is the believer in Christ filled with the Holy Spirit. He is always with us. He lives in us, and we live in him.
When we think of God as the heavenly micro-manager, we imagine him looking down upon us and orchestrating events like we are pawns on his chessboard. But God is not removed from our pain. He is our house, and we are his. He is in the pain with us. In his presence, we find what we need to keep believing, to keep trusting, to keep hoping even in the valley of the shadow of death.
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