Out Of Control?

"O, but didn't the people elect them?"  God says in Psalm 33:10:  The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples."

Providence is not just an archaic word or capitol of Rhode Island, but vital to apprehending God's nature.

Ben Franklin observed:  "I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more I see that God governs in the affairs of men."  There are no flukes, as they say.  Has everything gone haywire? Everything seems topsy-turvy in the culture nowadays!    Is the world spinning out of control?  Has the devil taken control, or does he have free reign to do his will?  When one reads the daily news he may be inclined to believe this and be pessimistic.  What we say in Christendom is that God does indeed "orchestrate" history and that it is "His story."

Even though it seems like man is in control,  God is in control--He rules:  "Dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations," (Psa. 22:28).  How is this possible?  There is no cast of the die out of His control (cf. Prov. 16:33); He controls the heart of the king (Prov. 21:1);  "People's lives are not there own; it is not for them to direct their steps," says Jeremiah in chapter 10, verse 23.   John Wesley read the paper to "find out what God was doing in His world."  "He's got the whole world in His hands," the famous hymn declares.  Hasn't anyone heard of the providence of God that the Puritans so often made reference to and a city in Rhode Island is named after?    It means that God is ultimately in control and is working out everything according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11).

I have heard it said that God doesn't "micromanage" the universe, but has taken a chance in giving man a so-called "free will."  Believe me, He has every molecule in the cosmos under His direction and there are no "maverick molecules" either.  Nothing has gone awry in God's economy.  Some erroneously think of God as a "do-nothing" king like the sovereign of Great Britain who reigns but does not rule--a mere figurehead and head of state in name only.  But God does rule over everything and is "Lord of all."  Even Satan cannot thwart God or do anything without His permission.  Yes, God is so much in control that we cannot resist His will (cf. Rom. 9:19).

God is not frustrated by His creatures (Jer. 10:23).  God is absolutely sovereign and it is not limited by our freedom, contrary to what Rome teaches. We cannot limit God, or He wouldn't be God.  "For who can resist His will? (Rom. 9:19).  "He stands alone, who can oppose Him?  He does whatever He pleases," says Job.  "Our God is in the heavens and He does whatsoever He wills."   Daniel says, "Who can resist Him? Who can say to God, 'What are you doing?"   He is our judge, we are not His judge.  We are accountable to Him and not vice versa.  God didn't explain Himself to Job, but made Job answer to Him, and it is likewise with us.

 I like Isa. 46:10 which says, "I will accomplish all my purpose...."  God will accomplish His plan per Isa. 14:24,27.  Remember, God took the most despicable act and dastardly deed ever committed and accomplished our salvation through it-God's "deliberate plan and foreknowledge" (cf. Acts 2:23, 4:28).  There is no such thing as luck (which is dumb), fate, (which is impersonal), or fortune (which is blind)--God is not any of those.  Providence is God's answer to what we refer to as happenstance, which is just an evasion of reality.

Wycliffe's tenet was that "everything comes to pass of necessity."  We are talking about the decretive or hidden will of God (not His perceptive will which is in the Bible for us to obey) which is none of our business and we don't know it till it happens.  ("The secret things belong to the LORD, our God..," according to Deut. 29:29).  Yes, God can turn the most diabolical event into a blessing--look at Joseph who said,  "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good,"  (Gen. 50:20).  "All things work together for good, to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose,"  (Rom. 8:28).  Every cloud has a silver lining in God's eyes; our trials and tribulations are Father-filtered, so to speak.

However, we are not to resign ourselves to some blind fate or what Islam calls kismet and sing with Doris Day, "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be."  In summary, there is no Plan B and God has no backup plan; we are not interrupting His plan--even the fall of Adam was known to God and had been planned what to do. (A good verse to remember God's absolute sovereignty by is Isa. 37:26, "Have you not heard?  Long ago I ordained it.   In days of old I planned it, now I have brought it to pass...." See also Isa. 14:24,27)   Soli Deo Gloria!