Is God really in control of everything?

As the so called, "Professional Religious Guy," often times I dismiss questions like this as they enter my mind. It seems that things greater than human knowledge or understanding often times stick out like a sore thumb on the hand of organized religion. We fear that if we don't have the right answer at the perfect time that people might dismiss us, labeling us as irrelevant, or worse, stop thinking about truth all together. I find it ridiculously silly that as Christian leaders we find ourselves convinced that the God of the universe somehow needs us to defend Him. Why can't we embrace the mystery, love the unknown, and take comfort in the reality that we are pursuing, and are pursued by, a God that is to great to fathom. In all honesty, do you want to put your hope in something that isn't much more powerful than you are? 

I just finished a class at Trinity International Divinity school in Bannock Burn, Illinois. It was a crazy intense semester of class crammed into one week. Yeah, it was insane. Anyway, one of the central themes to the class was, the divine attributes God. One of those attributes of that discussion was the providence, and sovereignty of God. This discussion asked questions that relate to God's control, our human free will, and many others. I have always believed for one reason or another that God's sovereignty was necessarily complete, and final. Free will had to be some sort of figment of my imagination, or at least some sort of unfathomable mystery. If God is sovereign, knowing all things before they happen, then do we really have a choice... about anything? Does knowing, automatically assume that God is controlling all things at all times? Of course right? Is God is ever out of control? If so, is He still God?

For the first time I found myself questioning the line of thinking that says, God's sovereignty depends on him being in complete control of all outcomes of every human life, at all times. 

Of course we know that God could in fact control everything at all times if He wanted to. If there is anything God can't do, then before we know it, we find ourselves with a God that is not too much different than we are. But is it possible that God could give up, or surrender a piece of His own power for the sake of connecting in real relationship with us as human beings? Could it be the greatest showing of His ultimate sovereignty to choose to lay down His control of our lives and decisions so that we might freely choose to love Him, follow Him pursue Him? 

I don't know the answers to all of these questions, but I do know that it ministers to my own soul to simply say these words... "I don't know!" I love serving a God that is too big for me to understand. I love asking ultimate questions that may be unanswerable. I embrace the mystery of a Holy God that is far bigger than I am, and embrace the journey of discovering daily more of the divine attributes of God offered to me in His holy word, and through the revelation of His creation. 

My only conclusion is this... Our God is big, I am not, and that makes me wholly dependent on Him!