God Is Not In Charge

This title may be a bit shocking in some religious circles, especially since the author of this article is a Christian minister. Nevertheless, sitting here in my office, shortly after 5 a.m., I got inspired to write. At first, I jotted down a couple of notes; then a couple of more notes, and, finally here I am at the keyboard.

I mean no disrespect to God with the title. In fact, by the time you finish this article, I believe you will not only have more respect for God, but also increased confidence in Him as well. So let's consider whether He is really in charge or not.

You hear the phrase on a regular basis; God's in charge. Most of the time when people use that phrase, they are not referring to the order of the universe or the splendid creation of the earth and all the universal laws that God keeps in motion. They are referring to details of their life or someone else's life.

But when you imply that God is in charge of the details of your life, you very quickly move into the area of fate. If you truly believe that God is in charge of everything concerning your life then it's very easy and logical to say, "Everything happens for a reason." Not only does everything then happen for a reason, but everything that happens is supposed to happen anyway, and we shouldn't worry about it because God is in charge; He is in control.

As you follow this pattern of thinking, isn't it obvious that God ends up getting the blame for everything, because, after all, He is in charge? While there are some who may think that the title of this article is disrespectful to God, I believe that saying, "God is in charge," is very disrespectful to Him because He ends up getting the blame for so many terrible things that people choose to do.

God gave all of us free will to choose. We can choose what thoughts we want to think and how we act. If God is in charge of my life, at what point do I take responsibility for my own thoughts and actions, as well as their consequences?

Even though believing that "everything happens for a reason" can make life utterly bleak when circumstances are challenging, sad or painful, people still cling to it because they can endure feeling sad, like a failure or even abandoned, as long as they are comforted by the fact that they don't have to take responsibility for their own choices in life.

When considering God being involved in your life, there are two extremes. One is that because He gave you free will, you are on your own. You do it all yourself, using all your own God given talents and abilities. The other extreme is that God is in charge of your life and whatever happens is for a reason. He's in charge, so don't try to figure anything out because everything that happens was just "meant to be."

Where is the balance?

First of all, God is not in charge of your free will thinking. He is not in charge of your actions. I know that our culture has propounded not taking responsibility for one's actions for many years. "It's not my fault."

But each individual is responsible for their own thoughts and their own actions. Unless there is some mental deficiency, we all have free will to choose what we will think about and what we will do. God gave us all free will.

The balance is taking responsibility for our own thinking and actions, and putting forth the effort to do the best that we can, while at the same time, asking God to help us. In other words, it is a partnership. It is a working-together relationship with God.

And, again, it is by our free will that we invite God into our lives. He is not just going to butt in and take control over your life. If that were true then why are there so many Scriptures encouraging us to pray and ask for His help? If God is in control of all of your life there is no need to pray and ask for His help. It would be out of your hands and only in His hands.

But on the other hand, a partnership, a working-together relationship, is what is available. We do our best with what we have right now, and at the same time, we ask God to get involved in our lives. We pray for wisdom and guidance. We pray for open doors. We pray for miracles. We choose to work together with our Father.

God did not make us His puppets so that He could control our lives. He gave us all free will. He does desire to be involved in our lives, but it is up to us to invite Him into our lives and to have a working relationship with Him.