God is in control. We hear this phrase a lot in churches especially during difficult times or when we see the world in chaos. We hear it as a source of comfort to allow us to cope with the unknown and to hopefully live understanding that we can’t know everything. The bible expands on this idea of sovereignty. That even though evil seems to prosper and that good often falls, God is just and that in the end good shall overcome.
“Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?” Psalm 94:9
“He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the lord our God will destroy them.” Psalm 94:23
The older I get, the more I believe this idea to be true. When we are younger, we like to think we are in control of our lives and everything around us, but so much of our life is dictated by our circumstances. For example, where we live, our jobs, our friends, our relationships are often more of a matter of where we find ourselves and the circumstances that have occurred that are out of our control. The path of least resistance is usually where we end up.
Now I’m not saying our choices don’t matter, because it’s true that we make choices everyday that have real consequences, both good and bad that can affect our life. I guess what I am saying is that it’s at least a combination of both. For example, things like what we eat can affect our health, but our DNA and family history has even more to say about it.
The area of where we really have the most control is our spiritual growth, an area which has eternal consequences, remembering that this isn’t our home anyways and that this life is more of a proving ground. This world is a place where we prepare for how we will spend eternity. That one day this world will pass away and a new world, ruled directly by God will take its place.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Phil. 3:20-21
Sixty-six books in a year 