IS YOUR GOD TOO BIG? -- God’s worst misrepresentation.

I believe one of the biggest deceptions in

the world of believers is the concept of

God controlling all things. It seems to be

the default response for anything in life

that we don’t understand. For every

sickness, natural disaster and political

upheaval, there is a religious cliché ready

to go. “God moves in mysterious ways.”

“There is a purpose in everything.” “God

is testing us.” “God is judging us.” And the list goes on and on.

A wrong understanding of God’s sovereignty brings very negative consequences in every area of the believer’s life.  In the dictionary, sovereign means: first in rank, order or authority, supreme and almighty, and this is 1000% right about God. But a prevalent religious doctrine has come up with another definition of sovereignty, where God would control everything. Whether good or bad, it all comes from Him. And that is not true!

There seems to be a natural inclination in the heart of most humans that wants to give God the responsibility and the blame for everything, while thinking God’s ways are unpredictable and there is no use trying to understand them.

This belief system leads to a God that allows/permits/orchestrates tragedies, war, murder, rape, child abuse, drug addictions, car accidents, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, floods and all kinds of human misery. And the response to such tragedies is that “God is in control.”

Courts have even recognized various events as “acts of God”—tornadoes, earthquakes,

extraordinarily high tides, violent winds, and floods. Many insurance policies for property

damage exclude from their protection damage caused by “acts of God”. No wonder lots of people resent this God who destroys and kills and brings all these tragedies and problems.

While it is true that God is able to bring good out of these tragedies, and that we can learn through our problems, it is wrong to say that God is the One who causes them.

We have problems and hardships because we live in a fallen world. We are even responsible for some of the problems we have, we can shorten our life and become sick by eating junk food, smoking, not taking good care of our bodies, etc… but it is not God who does it. God does not cause and control everything that happens to us, He does not control us like a chess piece. You can’t blame God for somebody who goes crazy and kills children in a school, for young people doing drugs, drinking, driving and causing deadly accidents.

This conception of God’s absolute responsibility in the events that bring human suffering is the result of a wrong idea of the nature of God, seen as a harsh and severe judge. What kind of human father or mother would inflict sickness and pain on his or her child in order to test his faith, or teach him a lesson, or punish him? We would instantly label that parent as a child abuser. This kind of false belief is going to hinder us from knowing the love of God.

A lot of things happen that are not God’s will. A famous example can be seen in the book of Exodus. Instead of moving quickly into the Promised Land and following God’s purpose, the children of Israel ended up spending 40 years in the wilderness, even though the Promised Land  was only an eleven-day journey from Egypt.  It happened because they doubted God’s promises and rebelled against His plan, not because God willed it.

It is God’s will that no one perish but that all come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that the Lord … is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But we can see that God’s will does not automatically come to pass. It is not God’s will for a single person to go to hell but numbers of people go there every day, because God does not control us and make us go to heaven or hell, it is our choice!!

The Bible teaches us in John 10:10 that “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I

(Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” From these words of Jesus we can make this simple but true statement: If something is life-giving, it comes from God. If it is killing and destroying and inflicting pain, it comes from the devil. Very simple!

1 John 3:8 declares that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. What works? Jesus went everywhere healing people! He even commanded a storm to cease! Why did Jesus come to destroy the devil’s works and commission His church to do the same, if God is actually controlling all of the events on this planet?

What if He isn’t in control? What if we are?

The heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to the children of men.             (Ps. 115:16)

What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You attend to him? For You have made him a little lower than God, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. (Ps. 8:4-6)

God has been slandered and misrepresented, and as a result people don’t know how good He is. Bad things happen whether people are good or not, and it is not God doing it. GOD IS A GOOD GOD.

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 100:5)