Is God in Control of Everything?

“Is God in Control of Everything?”- Romans 8:28-39

In Romans 8, Paul begins by speaking about there being no condemnation, he ends with there being no separation, and throughout the middle he writes about the person who is in Christ there is no defeat.  All can be summed up in one word- Assurance.  In this particular chapter, Paul shows us how Christ does change our lives, and he gives us an assurance that we are His; as believers, we are the children of the Most High King.  Some of us may wonder how it can be that we, believers, could be children of God; how can we be certain He loves us as His own when we are more wicked than we could have ever imagined.  Our assurance can be found in that even though we are more terrible than we could imagine, we are in fact more loved than we can conceive, loved because He loves us.  Such a simple answer, and yet so difficult for many of us to truly imbed these words into our hearts, to trust and have faith that God could love us because He loves us!

Towards the end of Romans 8, Paul addresses what many of us question: what happens when we sin or fail and others point fingers?  In verses 33-34 Paul says the following, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?  It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns?  It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”  God does not turn His back the second we sin; instead, Jesus, Himself, stands as our intercessor because we, believers, cannot be brought into condemnation because the price has been paid by Jesus Christ, Himself.  Paul goes on to say in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”  Nothing can impede what God has done for us and the love He has for us!

Things may seem beyond understanding, with us standing in our situations trying to come to a semblance of understanding at what is happening or even why it is happening, but God sees it ALL.  Think of a tapestry.  When one looks at it from the backside, it is difficult to make out what the design could possibly be on the other side, but all the time we spend looking at the backside because that is where we find ourselves, God sees the other side, and He knows exactly what He is designing.  We must not look directly at our situation, instead, we must keep our eyes fixed on the One who is in control of the design, who knows exactly what design we were created to make. 

Some of us may then ask why we cannot just sit back and relax because God is in control, but the fact of the matter is that God says He will carry it all but we must take the steps.  David says in Psalm 37:23, “the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.”  In this, we can understand that we must take the steps, but as believers, when we seek the Lord, our steps are ordered by the Lord; we need only walk them out.  God is completely in control because He is a sovereign God, but our choices do matter.  It can put much pressure on us as individuals in this world, but as children of Christ we must have faith the He loves us because He loves us, and there is no greater assurance than that.  No matter what bad stuff is going on in us or around us, we cannot be separated from God’s love.  As believers, we are ASSURED!