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Everything Is Under Control (But By Who?)

Everything Is Under Control (But By Who?)

Last updated on: May 22, 2019 at 10:35 pm by Keith Giles

Everything Is Under Control (But By Who?) 2019-05-22T22:35:52+00:00 Keith Giles

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In my own personal spiritual development, the idea that God is in control (and that I am not) has been a great source of comfort for me. By that, I mean God is my King and I have surrendered my life to Christ’s rule and reign. So, rather than worry about tomorrow – something I have absolutely zero control over – I can enjoy peace of mind and rest in the comforting assurance that God is in control and that God will take care of my needs as they come.

However, I have a good friend who just recently posted something that runs completely against this notion, saying: “Thank goodness God is NOT in control!”

That made me do a double-take, to be honest. But, after thinking through his statement, I can understand – sorta – where he is coming from.

What he means is that God is not in control of every minor detail of life. This means that God does not bring disease, calamity, struggle or sickness into my life to test me or to teach me something. God is not the originator of pain or suffering. God is not micro-managing the Universe.

So, in this sense, my friend is relieved to know that God is not cruel and God is not randomly dispensing blessings to one set of people and suffering to another set.

My comfort is that God is in control of providing for me as I continually rest and trust and seek first the Kingdom of God.

My friend’s comfort is that God is not in control of every detail of our lives or orchestrating scenarios where some suffer and others are comforted.

Not that any of this is completely seamless. I’m not sure either of us could completely reconcile our experiences, or our paradigms together in any consistent way. But, in some strange way, at least for me, I can see where both are true.

God does not cause suffering, but God walks with us through our suffering and does use that experience for our good.

God also provides for us daily as we continually rely on God’s care for us and trust in Him.

Does that make sense to you?

Keith Giles was formerly a licensed and ordained minister who walked away from organized church 11 years ago, to start a home fellowship that gave away 100% of the offering to the poor in the community. Today, He and his wife live in Meridian, Idaho, awaiting their next adventure.

His new book “Jesus Unbound: Liberating the Word of God from the Bible”, is available now on Amazon and features a Foreword by author Brian Zahnd.He is also the author of the Amazon best-seller, “Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb” with a Foreword by Greg Boyd.

Keith also co-hosts the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast on iTunes and Podbean.

BONUS: Want to unlock exclusive content including blog articles, short stories, music, podcasts, videos and more? Visit my Patreon page.

Join me this summer at one of these upcoming events:

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