Her tiny body fought for life. My Dad looked on helplessly as needles were jammed into skin, corridors raced through, doctors sought out. My little sister’s lungs were being drowned by the claws of asthma.

Is God in control?

In a situation like that, it would be comforting to know that God is in control. Recently however, someone challenged this long-held belief of mine, saying God is in charge but not in control. In other words, He is in charge because He reigns supreme and could step in at any time. Yet He is not in control because He has chosen to surrender what happens on earth, in order to give humanity freewill.

The Counterargument

Many theologians assert that God is in complete control of everything. John Piper believes that everything, each speck of dust, is in line with God’s will. Many biblical passages seem to support this view:

Jesus says the ‘lilies of the field’ are clothed by God, the sparrows fed by Him (Matt 6:28-30). His total control over good and evil is implied by the words ‘I bring prosperity and create disaster’ (Isaiah 45:7). Whilst we might recoil at the idea of a loving Being controlling evil, Dr Bruce Ware explains that ‘His control of evil would be for good purposes…the supreme example of this is the cross of Christ.’

However, many other passages suggest that God has surrendered control of the world and it is now our responsibility to build His kingdom on earth…

The nature of God’s Sovereignty

When bad things happen, Pastor Bill Johnson suggests it is our responsibility to invite God into the situation:

‘One of our biggest areas of confusion in the church is concerning the Sovereignty of God. We know that God is all-powerful. We know that He is in charge of everything. But… we make a mistake in thinking He is in control of everything…if you think that He’s in control of everything then you have to believe that Hitler was His will.’

This appears to make sense when we think about the purpose of prayer, and the fact that we need to take our ‘stand against the enemy’s schemes’ (Eph 6:11). It’s amazing that God chooses to use us as His ‘co-workers,’ a concept which further suggests God has handed over control (2 Cor 6:1). Bill Johnson adds:

‘He comes at our invitation because He has released the dominion to us. That’s why prayer is so essential…’

Jesus suggests the enemy has partial control over this world when he refers to him as the ‘prince of this world.’ Later, John says the ‘whole world is under the control of the evil one.’ (John 14:30; 1 John 5:19).

How can we trust God if He isn’t in full control?

After thinking this through, I realised that even if God isn’t in complete control, He is with us; ultimately, that’s all that matters. He says ‘I will be with you in trouble,’ assuring us that we cannot be separated from His love (Psalm 91:15; Rom 8:38). Interestingly, the Message Version of the above verse in 1 John implies that those in relationship with God will be protected spiritually:

‘The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God...’ (1 John 5:19 MSG)

In Knowing God, J.I Packer says that no opposition can crush us completely:

‘Our eternal salvation is assured, and we know that ultimately, God’s eternal purposes will win through.’ (See Isaiah 46:10 & Romans 8:28).

A final thought on prayer

The story I began with ends well: our church prayed hard and my sister is now a strong and influential woman. Would she have died were it not for those prayers? If God is not in control…perhaps the answer is yes?

-What do you think: Is God in control of everything, or simply in charge?

-How do you feel about the idea that God has empowered us to be His co-workers?