God is in control. Is that supposed to be comforting?

God is in control.
It is so easy to say. It is so easy to accept, cheerfully, when things are going well.

And then, suddenly, when the wind is knocked out of me by tragedy or grief, it’s hard.

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 

And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’

(and I get this question. Is has to be somebody's fault, doesn't it?)

Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, 

but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’” (John 9:1-3)

I read that verse when Aggie was sick, and it comforted me and terrified me. Wait, Jesus, this suffering isn’t anybody’s fault, but it might be part of God’s plan to display His glory? 

It’s not that I wanted the suffering to be my fault. I don’t like feeling guilty, and I don’t like taking the blame. But, if God was allowing something awful in my life to show me or teach me something, well, then there is still a sense that I can DO something about it. I will learn the lesson, I will repent or change or do whatever you ask of me, Lord! I will listen to you, and then, THEN you will take the suffering away, right?

If we had been doing something wrong, there might be hope that we could figure out what it was and fix it, and everything would be okay again. If the reason for this trial had nothing to do with us but rather with some unknown plan of God, well, that is pretty frightening. I actually was quite comfortable imagining that I had control over where our life was headed, over what kind of family we would be. It was hard to let go of that illusion, to realize that His ways are not my ways, and that He will have His way.


God is in control. God is creating something here, in me, and in this family. He knows when to protect us and when to allow suffering.  He has committed Himself to finishing what he has started.


If I did not know His love for me and mine, as I see in Jesus … I could not bear this truth.

Even now, I say it with trembling: He is in control.
His ways are not our ways.
Yet, He is love.
Jesus, hold me close.

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When you hear, “God is in control of your family,” are you comforted, scared, or something else?

In what areas is it hard for you to let go of control?

See also

On the weather and suchlike

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