Monday 17 March 2014

Read: Psalm 135:1-14, Hebrews 1:1-4

Is God really in control? This question is one that has been asked and re-asked for thousands of years. One popular modern view is that of Deism. Although Deists believe that God created the world they do not believe in His involvement. God is like the manufacturer of an incredibly sophisticated machine. He designs it, builds it and starts it up. After that He leaves, never to return to His machine. The machine keeps going and it is left to someone else to maintain and service. In this view God has created the world and set up it’s laws and rules. Then He leaves forever, leaving mankind to maintain and service the machine and to determine their own destinies. In this view God is not involved in the day to day running of creation at all.

The Biblical view is totally different. The Psalmist writes that God is King and in control of all that happens on the Earth. God is involved with the weather, with politics and with the rise and fall of nations. In other passages we even read that God is involved in the feeding and lives even of animals let alone people. God is intimately involved in all of creation. From the largest events of history down to the smallest moment of everyday life, God is in control over all things. Nothing is outside of His control and power. Even the way the dice or the lot falls is the work of God Himself (Prov. 16:33). In fact, without His intimate and every- moment involvement in sustaining and keeping the order of creation, nothing would be able to continue to exist.

This creates a modern dilemma. How do we reconcile God being in control and the existence of evil? Despite being in control and in charge of all things, God is not morally responsible for the evil that happens in the world, man is. This is one of the areas of theology that are most difficult to understand. How can God be the cause and will behind all that happens and yet not be responsible for the evil that happens in the world? If God truly causes and controls all things doesn’t that make evil His fault?

The Bible clearly teaches that God is in control of all things and yet man is rightly held responsible for any and all evil that happens. In theology this is known as concurrence. That God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility can co- exist or concur at the same time without cancelling each other out.

Take this example. We are told in Acts 4 that everything that happened in relation to Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection was foreordained and planned by God. We are told that God is the one that brought about these things and caused them to happen. Yet, those who did these things were still morally responsible for what they had done. Jesus said “Father forgive them” clearly indicating their responsibility for their actions. God had planned this and brought it about by His will and yet they were responsible for what they had done. God’s will and man’s responsibility co- existed or concurred at the same time.

This is one of the great mysteries of the universe, one of the things that we will never be able to fully understand this side of eternity. Whilst we cannot fully understand or fully explain it, this is the way that the Bible describes things and we must take it on faith. We cannot truly understand the way that God’s will and the responsibility of mankind can interact, but we can take God at His word and trust that what He tells us is true and trustworthy.

This week we will see many examples of how God is still involved and active in creation and in the world. We will see that God did not abandon creation at the fall but instead promised to redeem it. We will see how God worked in a single life to preserve His people. We will see how God is involved in every tiny detail of life. We will see how God worked to redeem His people and finally how God will act at the end of time to deal with evil and suffering once and for all.

Worship Moment
Why do bad times come upon good Christians?


One reason is that through these tough times we learn to praise and adore God despite our circumstances. We learn to praise and adore God in our circumstances. Genuine worship flows out of the heart and is God directed no matter what our life is going through.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. What do you think would be the practical implications for life if the Deists were right and God was uninvolved/uninterested in creation? How would this affect your life?
2. Why is it important to remember that God is involved with every detail of life? How does this change the way that you live?

Prayer:
Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration: 

Confession: 

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Thank God that He has not abandoned the world or left us to be punished as we deserve but that He is intimately involved in every moment of our lives. Praise Him that He is involved and aware of every area of your life and that He is working everything out for the good of those who love Him.
• Pray for the millions of Christians around the world who are suffering and dying for their faith in Christ. Pray that God would strengthen and encourage them. Pray that they would remember that God is always in control and that He is watching out for them. Pray that they would be courageous in their proclamation of the Gospel.