Sometimes, it may not seem like it, but God is in control. When things go wrong in our lives, when we lose someone or perhaps lose a job we ask ourselves “is God really in control?”  

Things go wrong.  A new shooting every night on the news.  Wars and rumors of wars. 

How could a loving God allow so many bad things to happen?

I don’t know if I have an answer to satisfy all those questions we ask. It’s hard to understand with our finite minds. However, there are a few things I do know for certain.

God is in control even when we can’t see it

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Have you ever looked at the backside of a tapestry or a piece of embroidery? You can’t really tell what the full picture looks like. All you can see is a bunch of different color threads going everywhere.  If you turn it over, however, on the front side you can see what it really looks like.

Throughout our lives, God is weaving a beautiful masterpiece bringing us back into relationship with Him, restoring our souls, connecting with people that can help us and, in turn, who we can help as well. 

We don’t know what God sees. We only see what is right is front of us or what we’ve been through. 

Sometimes, we can connect the dots and we have that “Ah Hah!” moment where we catch a glimpse of what God is doing.

However, most of the time we just have to trust that He knows what’s best and that God is in control even when it doesn’t feel like it.

God Works All Things For Good

Growing up, and even to this day, Romans 8:28 was one of my favorite scriptures.

It is a constant reminder that God is working in my life and He will bring good out of even the most difficult circumstances. Also, it reminds me that He has a purpose for me.

Example:

For 3 years, I worked as an actress and missionary putting on one-act plays for churches, schools, nursing homes and the like based on a theme the venue gave us.  

There was one time we went to a church in Kentucky only to find out that the pastor had accidentally double-booked us with another guest. The church had been in the middle of a building project so things happened.  

My teammates and I weren’t sure what was going to happen. However, it all worked out much better than expected. We performed our program and then the other guest, who was an evangelist had my team come up so they could pray for us. 

God ended up speaking to us prophetically through this evangelist and his wife- life-changing words that I still hold dear to my heart to this day.

So, even though things go as we expected them to, God had his own agenda which was much better than out own.

So, if you are facing a situation where things aren’t going as expected, take a look around. Ask God for his vision. Think outside the box.

You may also want to check out my post “Banging Your Head Against a Wall?”

God is Coming Soon

It won’t be long before long before God returns for His bride- for those who belong to him. Evil will be dealt with once and for all.  In the meantime, the best thing we can do is keep our lamps filled like the parable of ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.

The first five virgins kept their lamps filled with oil and were prepared when they were called. However, the other five virgins didn’t and asked to borrow from the first five and were turned down. 

The point of this parable, it seems to me, is that we have to be ready for Him and stand in faith for He will come when we least expect it.  

Conclusion

So, remember when things don’t go your way, something bad happens, or just see all the bad things happening on the news, don’t be afraid. Trust God and His vision for your life and remember that God is in control. 

He will work all things for good and He is coming again soon. That is something to rejoice over.

One last thing I wanted to mention. One thing that helps me when there’s a lot of negative things happening in my life or I’m afraid, etc.  is to look back and see how God has already worked in my life and turned so many things around that I never thought I would get through. 

If He did it before, He will do it again for:

“He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8