“The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men.” (Psalm 115:16 NKJV)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:16-17 NKJV)
“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:9-11 NKJV)
God, the possessor of supreme power, authority, and dominion over all of creation, has chosen of His own desire and design (will) to partner with His creation (mankind – male and female) to rule and reign in the earth.
According to his divine purpose, He created man (male and female) and endowed them with freedom and ability to make eternity impacting (life and death) choices and decisions (free will).
He then co-missioned His children to rule over the physical/material realm and subdue the spiritual realm of His creation in the earth.
As the Supreme Ruler, while retaining His rightful position of supremacy over all that exists (remaining in charge), He sovereignly chose to delegate a degree of power, authority, and dominion (sovereignty) to his children to partner with Him in taking control of the areas of responsibility required to fulfill the co-mission given.
Therefore, a balanced view of “sovereignty” emphasizes position, power, authority, and dominion, with or without the assertion of control. Perhaps the phrase “in charge” would convey a more accurate description of God’s sovereignty than “in control.”
When “bad things” happen to “good people” it is not because God did it, or allowed it. Actually, He limited it. It is either Satan; the thief whose only goal is to steal, kill and destroy; or fallen, sinful humans who are blindly following the evil one. God is the Giver of good gifts. He is the source of life. He demonstrated that clearly in sending His Son Jesus to this earth so that we could have life and that life more abundantly (to the fullest degree).
To claim that God micro-manages every detail of life due to a flawed understanding of sovereignty give the enemy a free reign in our lives. As long as we believe that loss, death, and destruction come from God, and the individual tragic events that they bring are part of His sovereignty, we will create religious clichés like “God is in control” to satisfy our immediate need for some form of comfort and understanding. But in the long run all we are doing is opening the door to more devastation, and unintentionally telling those around us that we have a mean spirited God who for reasons we don’t understand kills babies, wipes out cities, and gets pleasure out of suffering.
No, I don’t buy into that deception. That is why I need the reminder of…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 313: God is in Charge Part 2