Depend On God; He Is In Control!
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(25) Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. (26) My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ (Psalm 73:25-26)
There are those who believe it is the government (whether federal, state, or local) that has control over all that you do, and it will be government that will take care of their essential needs. There are those who are dependent on government subsidies to maintain their daily lives, in the form of food and housing assistance. This is not to disparage those programs or those who are dependent on such aid; it is something we as a society should do, helping out those who need a helping hand in a time of need.
The danger of this aid is when people expect this and become wholly dependent upon it and lose the will to help themselves, allowing the government to control them through the carrot of aid, even to the point of endangering themselves. The expectation is the government will always get them out of their troubles, but the government, being of man and being finite in resources, often falls short of these expectations and it becomes an issue of the failings falling not of themselves but of the government.
This also holds true if you replace ‘government’ with ‘corporations’, ‘unions’, or ‘the boss’. The Steelworkers union members of the late 1970s/early 1980s had a belief their jobs were forever safe, and had their hope based on the steelworkers’ union and in the steel corporations. Unfortunately, the widespread shutdown of the steel industry left many unemployed and unprepared, and the effects can be felt even today in the cities of the ‘Rust Belt’, where the steel mills and other factories long shuttered without replacement.
Governments, bosses, events, and other people only have control if you let them have control over you. On a secular standpoint, we do have to cede some control of our daily lives to others; in order to keep our homes, we must pay taxes and get permits, or do the tasks assigned by our bosses. This control is voluntary, and in a proper relationship it is not a heavy burden in allowing the government or boss to control you as such.
The problem is when that entity we cede power to overreaches and becomes overbearing or tyrannical, then it becomes necessary to break those ‘chains. We see a mass exodus of people from California, New York, New Jersey, and other states from high taxation and other edicts that are becoming overbearing. The majority of people leave a job not because of pay but because of the demands placed upon them by their government or their corporate entities.
In the Spiritual realm, God does not take control initially for the individual; God provides everyone free will. Two choices, however, lead to the same inevitable conclusion that God is in complete control. The first is voluntary, similar to the secular standpoint; as a person comes to accept Jesus as Lord, that person cedes control over their lives to Him. The Psalmist of Psalm 73 speaks about this; when the believer realizes that it is God who has complete control over all things, we not only cede our lives to Him but we desire Him to take control over all aspects of our lives, including control over those who we secularly cede control to. My government may have control over me in certain aspects (paying taxes, pulling permits) but my God has control over the government.
Jesus in His trial is the perfect example of this, He acknowledged the earthly power King Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Sanhedrin all had over Him as He was led to the cross, but Jesus also knew that ultimately, they did not have complete control of the situation, only Father God did by resurrecting Jesus, fulfilling prophecy and the Law in providing the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
The second choice is involuntary. If one does not accept Jesus as Lord, then God’s control will be realized upon Judgment after physical death. One who does not cede control over to Jesus in life will involuntarily cede control after death, when those who do not accept Christ will first acknowledge Him then be sent into the Lake of Fire for eternity. The Lord has created all, and thus controls all.
It is incumbent upon those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior from the punishment of Hell to show others that they need to cede control over to Christ in their lives now or have God impose His control upon them afterward. God is benevolent but just, so benevolent He sacrificed His own Son so we all could live, if only we accept His Son as Lord! We need to be Great Commission Christians and give people the ability to voluntarily follow Him today!
