If God is so good, why is our world in so much trouble? Many people, believers and nonbelievers alike, have this question today. Even without COVID-19, we see child abuse, sex trafficking, malnutrition, crime and more.
Pastor Todd Smith, senior pastor of Christ Fellowship in Dawsonville, Georgia, home of the North Georgia Revival, recognizes these problems, and he says the church has developed some faulty belief systems that keep us from fulfilling our divine destiny. In a recent episode of Kingdom Ready podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network, Smith seeks to correct those errors. One of those he mentions is this: “‘God is in control of everything.’
“This is a bad belief system in the church,” Smith says. “Now, don’t hit the stop button. Here what I’m about to say: God has the capacity to control everything. It’s a part of his DNA, if He has a DNA. You understand that it is a part of His essence. God has the ability to control everything, all things at one moment. He knows the thoughts. He knows the hairs on our head. He knows; He listens. He has the capacity.”
But when catastrophe strikes, Smith often hears people make the statement, “God is in control.” He says, “There’ll be a mass shooting happening: ‘God is in control.’ There’ll be an earthquake, and there’ll be hundreds of people killed: ‘God is in control.’
“I get what they’re saying: God is in control,'” Smith says. “But He’s not in control of everything at this moment. Because He has chosen not to be in control of everything. He has given mankind the ability to choose the ability to govern their own life. He did not create us to be robots; He created us to have the ability to either choose him or to reject Him. And in the choosing to reject Him and not [choose] his plan for our life, there are always consequences to our behaviors and our choices that not only affect us, but they affect those around us,” he says.
“God is not in control of everything,” Smith says. “Does He have the capacity? Could He at any moment take the reins of the whole world back? Yes, yes, yes. He’s not in control of abortion. He’s not in control of adultery. He’s not in control of the addiction to opioids. He’s not in control of those cutting themselves. He’s not in control of suicide. He’s not in control of murder. People make those choices.”
To hear more of Smith’s teaching and how God works to bring peace in the midst of chaos, listen to the entire podcast here. {eoa}
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer