One of the great questions we have is how God works through and in the world. Does God control every event and item that happens in this Creation? As Creator, we know that God can control Creation, but does this mean that whenever something happens it is God's choosing.....God's doing?
Many peoples throughout time would answer yes; we see evidence of this in both the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel. But if God causes all to happen....God causes destruction and warfare and disease and violence. That's pretty hard to swallow considering the entirety of Scripture which tells us that God---as Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier---is all about creating and not destroying. God is about giving life, not causing death. God is a God of Resurrection---bringing forth new life out of death.
So, what do we do with these texts of Scripture that express the belief that God causes all things to happen?
The LORD let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power....(Daniel 1:2)
The Hebrew is not quite so straight-forward...more along the lines that the Lord gave of his hand to Daniel.....more the idea that the Lord allows rather than the Lord causes.
So maybe our question is: Why does God allow these things? And maybe an idea to be pondered today is: Instead of thinking of God as working on us, maybe we could begin thinking of God working through us.
What does this slightly new perspective tell us about God and our relationship with God?
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