Is God REALLY in Control?

"The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men." - Psalm 115:16

Have you ever faced a situation that challenged your faith? Have you ever turned on the news and saw something that was so grotesque it made you wonder how could anyone do such a thing? If you have been alive for any length of time, I guarantee that you have.

We often tell ourselves , "God is in control" or "Everything happens for a reason" as a way to bring a sense of peace and understanding to what took place. While that may bring some relief for a moment, I want you to know that it has no basis in scripture or reality. Actually, it ends up doing more harm than good.

Let me explain a few things. Back in Genesis 1 and 2, God created the Heaven's and earth and after creation He creates man and puts them in the garden. The earth is perfect, sin doesn't exist and man rules and reigns. Now Satan comes, tempts Adam, Adam yields to the temptation and as a result sin comes into the world and Satan becomes the god of this world.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

So when man fell, Satan became the god of this age and as a result Adam handed the keys of authority over to him. This earth became his playground and his realm. The tragedies that you see are a result of the fall of man. When sin entered the world, decay was set in motion and death was set in motion. The sickness, the death and all of the hurt you see in this world are not a result of God placing it on people. It's a result of the fall of man. It's a result of sin entering in the world and decay entering in the world. It doesn't mean that if something takes place, it was the devil. It just certainly means it wasn't God.

I want you to realize that, like James said, every good and perfect gift is from God. That God is good all of the time. That just because something unexplainable happens, doesn't mean God willed it to happen or orchestrated it to happen. It's a result of not living in a perfect world.

Now let's finish the story. Satan gained authority through the fall of man but after that took place, Jesus came, rose from the dead and then stripped Satan of all his power. The Word says in Colossians 2:15, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." So Jesus stripped Satan with His resurrection and then in turn gave the keys of power and authority back to us. Back to the church. So now we have absolute authority over anything that may take place on this earth. Great news right?

The plan of God has always been to have man rule and reign in life. It was His plan in Genesis and it's His plan now. That man was to have complete dominion over any circumstance that would present itself. That man would use his authority in the earth, given by God, to exercise dominion. He has given you authority, He has given you power to exercise over the works of the enemy. All you have to do is use it!

You see, God is not the grand puppet master pulling on the strings of life to get you to do whatever He wants. He's not a manipulative controlling person who puts sickness on people to teach them character development. He is a good God and a good Father! The religious phrases we tell ourselves for console end up damaging our view of who He is and taint the image that God is trying to present of Himself. It needs to stop.

God is for you and not against you! He is good and doesn't cause tragedies or calamities. We have authority in the earth, given by God that we can use and should use to bring everything into the subjection of the will of God. If you are facing something challenging, I want you to realize that you already have the victory over it and if you take your authority, the situation has to resolve itself. The sickness will have to leave! The depression will have to go! God has well-equipped you to face anything that you are going through in life. Realize that you just have to take your authority in this earth. When something tragic takes place it isn't God causing it or allowing it. It's a result of man not taking authority.

So the question isn't "Is God really in control?" The question is, "What are we doing to exercise our authority?"