Is God Really In Control?

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.
–Ecclesiastes 3:1

Do you believe in the sovereignty of God? Do you believe God is in control of all His creation? If the answer is yes, then what would it take in your life to cause you to doubt God’s control over His creation? The loss of your job? The unfaithfulness of your mate? A terminal illness?

I have found there are many people who believe in the sovereignty of God until their world is turned upside down. In fact, Solomon was one of those people who wrestled with the whole idea of God’s sovereignty. The book of Ecclesiastes is a journal of Solomon’s questions about life–and he asked a lot of questions.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon has some great moments of spiritual depression. In chapter 1, he wrote, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” (v. 1). And looking at the cycles of nature and human accomplishment, as well as his own experience, Solomon came to the conclusion that life is meaningless. But then he went to the opposite extreme and said, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” (2:24-25). And in chapter 3, Solomon continued the argument that there is meaning to life when you take God into account. This week, we are going to see three of Solomon’s arguments for how to understand life from God’s point of view.

First of all, Solomon said God has a divine plan for everything that happens in life. Look at verse 1: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” For many years, it was generally accepted–not universally accepted, but generally accepted–that there is a God who created this world and keeps it in order. But a few centuries ago, naturalism began to creep into society. Naturalism is the idea that nature is all there is–no longer is there a need for a belief in God because we can explain the world through scientific methodology.

But the fact is, there is no conflict between true science and the Bible. The Bible tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). And the same God who created this world and “upholds all things by the word of His power,” as Hebrews 1:3 says, is right now upholding your world. Even if your health is declining, even if your finances are shrinking, even if your job has disappeared, even if your relationships seem out of control, God says, “I am in control of your world.” That is what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1: “There is an appointed time for everything.” God has a divine plan for everything in life.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Is God Really In Control?” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.