Who is in control?

Last week, we saw a tornado rip through Tennessee, killing dozens and causing dormitories to collapse on students at Union University; then yesterday, a former student walked into a classroom at Northern Illinois University and opened fire with a shotgun. At least six are dead.

We know there are daily tragedies in the world. We know of ethnic violence in Kenya, of refugees in Darfur, of AIDS orphans and malaria deaths. Yes, yes, these are horrible; we don’t expect such problems to end – for those who live far away from us. But when young students face death at seemingly safe universities within the US, we ask, “What is going on? Who is in control?” And the skeptics around us – including, at times, our own doubting hearts – ask, “Where is your supposedly all-powerful God?”

“The nations” ask a similar question in Psalm 115:2: “Where is your God?” Verse 3 answers the question: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

Note four ways that this verse refutes the skeptic:

1) There is a God. He exists. He doesn’t act how we would if we were gods, but who are we to counsel Him (Romans 11:34)? Yes, He is confusing; certainly, He is far beyond our comprehension; He would hardly be God if it were otherwise. But He exists. He is God.

2) He is indeed our God. By His grace and mercy, He has reached out to sinful mankind to create a treasured possession for Himself (Deuteronomy 7:6; Malachi 3:17). Again and again, from Exodus to Revelation, God promises to His redeemed, “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” Through the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, God covers the sins of His redeemed, and brings them in Christ into His intimate family. 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1). If we are part of that family, clearly He is for us and not against us. So the psalmist continues,

You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. . . . he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great. (Psalm 115:11, 13)

3) Our God is in the heavens. For many of us today, this may not sound comforting, as we think, “God is far away, in heaven. I need Him to be right here with me!” When we think that way, we are setting up a false dichotomy: God is in heaven or He is here; He can’t be in both places.

That was not the attitude of the psalmist. Because God is in the heavens, He is not limited by an earthly perspective. Mountains, rocks, towers, walls don’t obstruct His view. He sees all that happens; He knows all that goes on. So, in Psalm 2, when the kings of the earth conspire together against God, thinking that they are keeping counsel to themselves, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision (Psalm 2:4).” God is in heaven. He sees all and knows all.

Furthermore, because God is in the heavens, He is not limited by earthly constraints of distance and time. He can reach into this world at any place, at any time to provide help to His people. “He will send from heaven and save me (Psalm 57:3).”

4) Finally, our God in the heavens does all that he pleases. Or put that another way: There are no binding constraints on God. No other power limits God. No other being — natural or unnatural, human or demonic, angelic or earthly — keeps God from doing what He most wants to do. He is not limited by His energy level, by illness, by sleep, or by mood. He knows what will work out best to His glory, and He chooses to do that. He never looks back to the past and says, “If I had only known how things would work out, I would have acted differently.”

So when something happens that we don’t understand, we must never say, “God was caught off guard” or “God tried to stop it, but couldn’t” or “God doesn’t care about the details of this life.” Instead, we must say, “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”

So did God send the Tennessee tornado? Did He direct the NIU killings?

We know that “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13). God does not sin, and does not tempt others to sin. He governs the world in such a way that we humans are responsible for our actions, even as He guides, directs, and ordains all things. So He planned the greatest injustice the world has ever seen – the crucifixion of His Son – and brought about all the details, just as prophesied (Acts 4:24-28) – all for the glory of his Name (John 12:27-28). In bringing this injustice about, He tempted no one and sinned not at all.

Just so with tornados and murders. Our God is in the heavens. He knows all. He can stop wind and waves. He can halt bullets. Sometimes He does. Other times He does not. And He is always good. Always wise. Always working all things together for the good of His people and the glory of His Name.

So ponder our great God who does all that He pleases. And say with the psalmist, “We will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 115:18).

Coty