A Meddling God

Q: My question relates to whether GOD is involved in everything. For example, there are many people unable to find employment however still manage to survive. Is GOD involved in this circumstance? I believe GOD knows what we need before we do...and instills a `sense` in us in preparation. This may be in form of an experience or task which may not prove important until the point of needing that experience/task output. My friend believes GOD does not meddle in the little things...HE gave us salvation, his instruction and the spirit.

A: If you have children, or are familiar with parents who do, you know how they deal with their children. When the children are young, the parents will take a more active role in the lives of their children in order to instruct them properly and to keep the children safe from the consequences of the poor decisions they make out of a lack of knowledge. However, as children get older and mature they will begin to make their own choices based off of the instruction that their parents have given them. The parents are always there for them in order to offer continued support and guidance, but they are not making every decision and choice for their children. This is similar to our relationship with God. The Bible says, “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16)." We have a living God. A God, like parents are with their child, who is active in our lives on an ongoing basis.

There are two competing views amongst many Christians about the role of God in our lives. One view states that God is responsible for every decision and outcome in our lives, no matter how small or trivial. A second view portrays God as almost a disinterested deity that sits far away watching all of us battle it out on our own down here on earth. However, our God fits neither of these definitions. In 1 Corinthians 14:33 it says, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (KJV).” If God is responsible for everything that happens on earth than He must be responsible for all the bad choices we make, all the evil in the world and all the differing views about Him. If that is the case He is the author of confusion and thus a liar. Furthermore, if He is a God who sits far away with little to no interest or interaction with what is going on in the world, how is it that the Bible refers to Him as a living God who indwells believers, lives with us and walks among us? Belief in the first view paralyzes Christians as they struggle with every decision in their lives, believing that God’s will for them is somehow tied to the decision they make and His love for them is based on the outcome of that decision. While those believing in the second view of God end up being their own gods, relying on their own understanding and doing what is right in their own eyes.

As a living God, He most certainly can be involved in everything and it would not be unbelievable to think that He could. There are even times in scripture and in the lives of individuals that we can see where God stepped in to our lives to influence the outcomes. However, that is more consistent with a living God who, like a loving parent, reserves the right to step in and act on behalf of His children to guide them towards the proper decision or outcome. In this time of economic and personal distress we can rejoice. When people are worried about jobs, finances and the future they turn to God for the answers. What better opportunity will there be for the people of God to step in and be used by Him to either lead people to faith in Jesus Christ or restore Christians back to a level of comfort in their Savior? God knows we worry about our circumstances. That is why Jesus said, “do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them (Matthew 6:31-32).” Troubling times are to be expected and God tells us that He will be faithful to see us through those times. However, that doesn’t mean that He is responsible for them.

The Bible tells us in Acts 17 that God “determined the times” and the “exact places” where every nation of men shall live. It goes on to say that “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:27).” This statement applies to all mankind and is a perfect illustration of God’s love for the world. For the lost it should be encouraging to them because it confirms that while they have not come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, God is still not far from them, using the circumstances of their lives to draw them to Him. As believers we are reminded that God used our circumstances to bring us to a saving faith in His Son. And as children of God, He continues to use the circumstances of our lives, whether good or bad, to continue to reveal Himself to us and all we have in Him. While God is not responsible for every single event in our lives we can rest assured that we may someday be able repeat the comforting words of the Apostle Paul. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:11-13).” Our circumstances may not be from God, but they can certainly lead us to be thankful because they remind us that He is there with us in the midst of them.