A sad commentary on the modern church, in my opinion, is the phrase, “God’s in control.” It has become a cliché. We use it as a common response to friends sharing their hearts or their hurts. We utter it confidently when we’re comforting someone who’s just lost a loved one. We comfort those who experience tragedy or trauma in their lives with a compassionate panacea, “God’s in control.”
But in those times when we utter that phrase, is God really in control? Don’t misunderstand me. I KNOW God is in control of everything. I believe that. I live that out…sometimes. Recently I had cause to pause and consider if God really was in control. I had a huge misunderstanding with a loved one. We found ourselves at polar opposites of a monumental decision that required one of us to capitulate. I wanted desperately to give the situation to God, but I chose not to. Rather, I bowed to my stubborn self-will and manipulated some circumstances to impact the outcome.
God was not in control. I took control from Him. God showed me through this quagmire that God can’t be in control if I’m not surrendered to His will. It would mean taking my hands off the situation and allowing Him to work in it. It would require me to purposefully and intentionally relinquish my influence and self-effort.
The only way God can be in control is if we’re not.
For His Glory 
God teaches us who is really in control when he lets go of the reins so we can try it our way! How is it working for you?
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He has taught me many times what happens when I try to take control of things. I am so grateful for free will. It gives me plenty of opportunities to surrender to His will and abandon mine to Him. Thanks for the encouragement and comments. God bless.
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Amen, brother. You make a critically important point if we are going to understand God’s operation in the affairs of mankind. There is a popular misconception (started with Augustine, I believe) that everything is God’s will and He meticulously controls everything–even evil. This cannot be true. In fact, we prove everyday that God’s will is rarely done on the earth. As you pointed out, He’s in control when we’re not. He IS sovereign and has control over everything, but out of His love HE freely chose to give us free will. We were made in His image but we often don’t look and act like Him! And it’s here where we find the source of all of our problems on this planet.
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Thank you, again, for your insight and your encouraging comments, Mel. And I agree with you that “we prove everyday that God’s will is rarely done on the earth.” Amen, and thanks again. God bless.
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