Is God Really In Control?
Contents:
He will ultimately prevail over the Devil, and all those who have made the free will choice to believe His Word will live happily ever after with Him and the Lord Jesus.
Is God Really in Control?: Trusting God in a World of Terrorism, Tsunamis, and Personal Tragedy
Let us not fall into the trap of putting our trust in the static, pagan concept of a bored deity mindlessly watching his pre-planned scenario unfold, and maybe having to wonder what cosmic tragedy he has assigned to us. No, we who have made Jesus Christ our Lord can lay our very lives in the hands of the God whose fathomless love surrounds us and whose limitless resourcefulness are at our disposal.
Our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus stand with us in the trenches of life, and they are never caught off guard by the circumstances coming at us, but always ready to show us the next thought to think, word to speak, and step to take. There are two books in particular that I found to be extremely enlightening about this whole matter. The fact that it is only pages of good-sized print helped me get started on it, and what I found was a book loaded with Scripture, a rock-solid biblical exposition of a subject it seems has been too often ignored in favor of the unscriptural Platonic, Augustinian tradition.
The latter may well have left the majority of the Christian populace with an almost fatalistic worldview that significantly dilutes their resolve to pray, to share their faith, and to realize the far-reaching importance of their own choices. In his Introduction, Boyd asks such penetrating questions as:. If God foreknew that Adolf Hitler would send six million Jews to their deaths, why did he go ahead and create a man like that?
If God is eternally certain that various individuals will end up being eternally damned, why does he go ahead and create them? And then try to get them to accept his grace throughout their lives—as though there were genuine hope for them? Why does Scripture describe God as expressing uncertainty about the future, being disappointed in the way things turn out, and even occasionally regretting the outcome of his own decisions? Boyd says it was questions like those that led him on a year search in the Bible. The thesis he sets forth in God of The Possible is that, to some extent, God knows the future as definitely this way and definitely not that way, but that to some extent, He knows it as possibly this way and possibly not that way.
He shows that the issue at stake is not about whether God is omniscient or has foreknowledge — He is and He does. Rather, the issue is about the nature of the reality that God perfectly knows, that is, what is the content of the reality of the future. If God does not foreknow future actions by free will beings whom He chose to create that way, it is not because His knowledge is in any sense incomplete. It is because there is, in the open view, nothing definite there for God to know.
How to respond in faith to life's minor disappointments and major tragedies. Whether it's a devastating natural disaster half a world away or a tragic accident. Editorial Reviews. From the Back Cover. How to respond in faith to life's minor disappointments Is God Really In Control?: Trusting God in a World of Hurt.
Practically, a God of eternally static certainties is incapable of interacting with humans in a relevant way. The God of the possible, by contrast, is a God who can work with us to truly change what might have been to what should be. Indeed, God is so confident in his sovereignty that he does not need to micromanage everything.
He could if he wanted to, but this would demean his sovereignty. So he chooses to leave some of the future open to possibilities, allowing them to be resolved by free agents. He shows that the biblical material used to support the classical tradition that the future is exhaustively settled does not, in fact, prove it. It proves only that some of the future is settled. In Chapter One, Boyd sets forth some key sections of Scripture used by defenders of the classical view of foreknowledge to prove their point, and offers another explanation of them, one more consistent with the whole of Scripture and with the reality of human existence.
He examines the five categories of divine foreknowledge in the Bible, that is: He controls whatever he chooses to control. He is never caught off guard or at a loss of options. He anticipates and ingeniously outmaneuvers his opponents. Hence, all who align themselves with him can have total confidence that he will ultimately achieve his objectives for creation.
The subtitles in Chapter Two are: In its conclusion, he states:. Here are some quotes:.
Most of the time we are unaware of our deepest beliefs about God. We may think we believe one thing about God, repeating teachings we have been given, when, in fact, at a deeper level, our picture of God does not actually reflect these teachings. If we believe that possibilities are not real, we will be more inclined to accept things that we could, and should, revolt against…Conversely, if we believe in the reality of possibilities, for even God faces them, we will be more inclined to take a proactive stance.
Knowing that what transpires in the future is not a foregone conclusion but is significantly up to us to decide, we will be more inclined to assume responsibility for our future…[We] will be more inclined to adventurously and passionately envisage and pursue what could be instead of resigning ourselves to what supposedly was settled an eternity ago about what will be.
We are thinking, feeling, willing, personal beings only because we, like God, are beings who can reflect on and choose between possibilities. Regarding prayer, Boyd writes that, in his experience, many Christians do not pray as passionately as they should, but rather do so out of obedience and without the sense of urgency that Scripture attaches to prayer. Because God wants us to be empowered, because He wants us to communicate with him, and because he wants us to learn dependency on him, he graciously grants us the ability to significantly affect him.
This is the power of petitionary prayer. God displays his beautiful sovereignty by deciding not to always unilaterally decide matters. He enlists our input, not because he needs it, but because he desires to have an authentic, dynamic relationship with us as real, empowered persons. Regarding the power of prayer and the problem of evil, Boyd waxes both logical and inspirational:. Jesus spent his entire ministry revolting against the evil he confronted. It is full of enlightening and comforting insight. The last question addresses his experience that most people who honestly examine the evidence for the open view and then choose to reject it do so not because the evidence is weak but because they fear its implications.
He believes that the open view simply articulates what we already believe at a core level, based upon how we act. Boyd wonders how believing that a string of robberies and beatings in your neighborhood was ordained by an all-controlling God helps you to cope with the fear that it might happen to you?
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You still know at the core of your being that the world is just as scary with your belief as without it. He submits that such a belief makes the world an even scarier place, because:. You have nothing to hang on to. As a morally responsible free person, you can make choices that maximize your safety and minimize your vulnerability against other free people who have chosen evil. The world is perhaps still scary, but less so than if the Creator himself had the kind of character that made him willing to ordain child kidnappings and the power to ensure that what he ordains will certainly be accomplished.
Boyd closes his book with an appendix expositing 19 passages of Scripture that support the open view of God and of the future. What he has found is very compelling. Do I think everyone currently residing on terra firma earth could benefit from reading this book? We see in Scripture that because Jesus walked with total trust in his heavenly Father and carried out his part of The Plan, God could reciprocate and keep His Word, both to Jesus and to all those who call upon his name.
So keep calling, by aggressively and passionately praying and obeying. Have you read it lately? It expands upon much of what you just read, and it really helps people to love and trust God. In conjunction with that our teaching on, You Are the Only You God Has, is extremely relevant to this whole issue, and it is a real winner.
Thank you for you humble lucidity in this discussion. I am grateful for your excellent approach to this topic. An excellent article that tells it like it is. It means He has the power and authority to control all things if He so desires. Quotes from the old Testament are mostly meaningless because God had a special covenant with the Israelites where they gave up their free will for His special help and guidance.
We do not have that covenant today. This is really interesting. Thanks for posting this and highlighting those books. The book of Job makes no sense. What was God proving to satan? It makes much more sense if satan came as one on trial and in defense of his rebellious angels. Satan wanted to show that there were other creatures that were rebellious toward their creator — without being blessed by their creator.
Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Is God Really In Control?: From devastating natural disasters to deadly highway accidents, tragedies occur every day around the world and in our own lives. As we face death, grief, loss, we become angry and our faith is tested as we ask, "Is God really in control? Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
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Jun 24, Sassa rated it it was amazing. Can you and I really trust God? Where is God when there is tragedy? Is God always in control? This books answers most affirmatively that you can trust God all the time, in all circumstances. This book is especially written for those who are going through difficult times or in a world of hurt and wonder if God cares.
Bridges reminds us God does, as He personally tells us and assures us in His Word. This book is a walk in encouragement, through good times and bad, giving us verses of promise, exampl Can you and I really trust God?
This book is a walk in encouragement, through good times and bad, giving us verses of promise, examples of inspiration, and lessons of hope and perseverance. What can mortal man do to me? I do highly recommend. Dec 07, PennsyLady Bev rated it really liked it. Apr 27, Samuel Cowan rated it it was amazing.
The reason I picked this book is because I have enjoyed Jerry Bridges before. Another reason was the title. I bought this at our church weekend away and very soon afterwards we had the first earthquake in Nepal. Because of the ministry I am involved with and meeting people from different nations of the world and especially those from Nepal I hoped that it would be very easy to read and understand I wished to use it a my main book on my visits.
Is God in control? Does He care about the little things, too?
I was not disappointed the author took the subject o The reason I picked this book is because I have enjoyed Jerry Bridges before. I was not disappointed the author took the subject of God's Sovereignty over all things and being true to the Scriptures showed from God's Word how God is in control even in what we call natural disasters. This is a real wee gem and one that I will be referring to time and again.
I would recommend this book to all those in leadership or ministry as it gives many insightful thoughts and illustrations which can be used to bring comfort to those we minister too and also when we need the ministry of God's Word in our own circumstances and when we as the children of God question if God is really in control. Jan 01, Elaine rated it really liked it.
In the last chapter of the book there is a paragraph that struck me: I seek to look beyond the person who is only the instrument to see God, who has purposed this adversity for me. If God has ordained to allow this trial in my life, it is because He has in His infinite wisdom deemed it to be good for me.
Bridges, Jerry
Through the adversity, wrought by the other person, God is doing His work in my life. One part of humblin In the last chapter of the book there is a paragraph that struck me: One part of humbling myself under His mighty hand is to resist any tendency of bitterness or resentment in my heart toward the other person. Though his actions may be sinful in themselves, God is using those actions in my life for my good. Everyone serves a purpose, good or bad, in our lives.
On the flip side this also means I was put into other people's lives by God to change them as well, be it good or bad. How wonderful it is to know that life hasn't just happened, that it has been all part of God's great plan for my life. Oct 23, Eric Molicki rated it really liked it Shelves: Don't let the little size of this book for you: Jerry writes clearly of the sovereignty, wisdom, and love of God.
His focus is upon how these truths change how we live in all of life and especially in suffering. This is a fantastic book to read especially if you're not suffering: