What does God control? The short answer is everything. He knows everything. He has planned everything. He does the work. He issues the call. He gives us the power to accept. It blankets us in the righteousness of His Son, justifying us through Christ and He brings us to glory to be with Him forever. That is in addition to the universe and everyone and everything in it, all matter, all time and all space.
What do we control? Our choices and our attitude. The big choice we control is to answer God’s call. It is a call that requires a response and we each have the free will to respond to that call. Once we accept, we then have the choice to obey or disobey God; to walk in light or in the shadows, to speak words that glorify Him, to grow in our knowledge of Him.
Our main choice is over our emotions. Og Mandino wrote:
- If I feel depressed I will sing.
- If I feel sad I will laugh.
- If I feel ill I will double my labor.
- If I feel fear I will plunge ahead.
- If I feel inferior I will wear new garments.
- If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice.
- If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come.
- If I feel incompetent I will think of past success.
- If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals.
He wrote this with a perspective of mind over matter or fake it until you make it. While I have nothing against the power of positive thinking, I do not think it is sufficient. Instead, I think his list is absolutely correct but for an entirely different reason.
- If I feel depressed I will sing praises to the God of the Universe who has promised to work for my good and lift me up high.
- If I feel sad I will laugh because I know true joy in Jesus and it is foolish and laughable to think of something that He cannot handle.
- If I feel ill/weak I will double my labor because by working and serving God and His people I find true nourishment and strength
- If I fear I will plunge ahead because legions of angel armies are at my side and greater is He who is with me than he who is in the world.
- If I feel inferior I will strap on the armor of God
- If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice to heaven and call on the one who knows all and is all powerful and has a perfect plan for my life
- If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come and the riches of God’s glory
- If I feel incompetent I will think of past success such as the stories of the Old Testament and Jesus’ life and conquering of sin and death
- If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals, not the troubles that I see all around me but the things to come because the things of this world are temporary but the things of God are eternal.
My Answers:
6.
a.
F: God knows all things outside of time bounds, so past, present and future
P: God is in control and has full knowledge so he knows and is master over all destiny
C: God invites, while He knows the choice we will make, He limits His power and allows us to choose
J: To be found not guilty by the fulfillment of the penalty of our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus
G: To be made back into our original “good” image that can live in harmony with God in His presence
b.
God is in control and uses that control for the ultimate good of His people and His creation
7.
God works through all things – some examples include struggles, challenges, temporary exile, hardship, blessings, bringing comfort and love into our lives, provision, the Word, believers, the Church. They do not because of the weight and burden of sin. Sin distorts us into something we, ultimately, do not want to be.
8.
Through the blessings of my wife and her daily prayer for me. Through the blessing and struggles of work and health. Through joy, peace, kindness and prosperity. Through my worries and doubts and the burdens I carry. Through my faith and my lack of faith. Through my prayer and the recognition when I have not prayed and pushed forward
The Notes are Good 