God is In Control

A couple of weeks ago, I told a story about how as I was preparing a sermon on “Peace,” that I received an unsolicited mailing from the Billy Graham organization--a booklet entitled, “Steps to Peace with God.” I mentioned how it is always nice when Billy helps me out with my sermon preparation.

Almost as an aside, I wondered how anyone could NOT see the hand of God in their life. I see God working in amazing ways both in my own life and in the life of the church, and I always assume that other people see the same thing in their own lives. But it may not be so.

What I sometimes forget is that seeing God’s hand in my life is a discipline I have developed over time through practiced observance. I see God’s hand because I look for God’s hand. This may seem like circular logic, but I don’t think it is. Some people see amazing coincidences in their lives, but I don’t believe in coincidence. I am a person of faith, and that faith shapes and informs my worldview.

One of the reasons I expect to see God’s hand at work in my life is that the Bible says it is. I realize that some people want objective verification before they will accept a biblical truth, but I think that is getting the cart before the horse. If we know the Bible is true in much of what it says, then it makes sense to trust it in places where we don’t know the answers unless and until it is proved wrong.

Paul says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God is working in our lives, working for our good. God would not be very successful in this unless he had control of all the variables. In fact, Paul says, God works for our good not occasionally, not here and there, but in all things.

There are lots of verses that assert God’s control over the events of our lives, like Isaiah 14:27, “For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” and Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” But I think my personal favorite is Genesis 50:20, where Joseph says to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Given all that Joseph had been through, betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, thrown into prison when his only crime was trying to be a faithful servant, interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, and finally put in charge of grain collection and storage for the whole country, he has an incredible faith and trust that even when things seemed darkest, God was in control, and orchestrating the details of his life.

That kind of faith can have a wonderful affect on our lives. When we are able to trust in God, that frees us from fear about the future. It frees us from worry. We don’t have to be anxious about the future because we know that God is in control. There are so many things in life over which we have no control—our health, our family, the guy coming the other way in traffic. Things can go wrong in an instant. But when we remember that God is in control of our lives, we can rest safe in that knowledge. I imagine Joseph was pretty upset when he was sold into slavery and thrown in prison. It probably didn’t seem like God cared, much less that God was in control. It is when we do not see God’s hand in our lives that we simply have to trust.

If Billy Graham could help me out one more time, I remember what he said one time: “I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”