Let’s turn over to Romans chapter eight. I want to share with you a Scripture that is probably one of the most quoted Scriptures in the Bible. Even unbelievers know this one. You’ll hear people quote this and say this all the time, but it is often not applied in the proper way. Romans chapter eight, verse 28 says,

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Does God sovereignly control everything and therefore should we blame Him?

This Scripture above is something that people use constantly to blame God for whatever problem they’ve got. I think the worst doctrine in the body of Christ today is the belief that God just sovereignly controls everything that happens in this world. It doesn’t end there, they go on to say that if you’re sick, or if your marriage falls apart, or if you are struggling, and if you have any problems whatsoever, God either caused it or allowed it. That is not what this verse is saying.

So when the verse says, “And we know that all things…”, we have to ask what is this verse and the ‘things’ mentioned dependent upon? Let me just back up into verses 26 and 27.

Based on these two verses we know that all things work together for good

When we can see that it is based on these two verses it makes a big difference. These verses are talking about Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered intercession. So this passage of Scripture does not imply that all things come from God or that whatever’s happening to you comes from God. If you believe that, it makes you passive and you would have the perception that God sovereignly controls everything.

Let me explain it another way. If you want to hang something on a wall, you can’t just stick it up against the wall. It’ll fall to the ground. You have to put something there, an anchor, or a screw, or a nail for it to hang on. Likewise, there are certain truths that other truths from the Word of God hang upon.

James chapter four, verse seven, is one such Scripture that is like a nail for other truths to hang upon. James 4:7 says,

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

This verse right here makes it very clear certain things are from God and certain things that are from the devil. You submit to those things, and you yield to those things that are from God. The things that are from the devil, you have to resist those. The word resist means to actively fight against. If you think that God just controls everything, that either He does it intentionally, or Satan has to come to Him and get permission before He can do it to you. If you believe that God has a hand in the suffering that you have that will make you passive. Therefore you won’t be resisting. You won’t be actively fighting against what is stealing from you because you would feel like you’re fighting against God.

So no, God does not control everything that happens to you. Things work together for good when you are letting the Holy Spirit make intercession through you and if you love God. Remember the Romans 8:28 Scripture that says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God…”. Now this automatically exempts people who don’t love God. People who don’t love God do not have everything work together for good. 

You gotta know what is God and you submit to that and then you resist the devil. If you do that, he’ll flee from you.

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