God the controller?

At the start of a new year we are assured from the pulpit that, "God is in control".  Well yes, but there is something disturbing about this familiar assertion.

Now the word "control" is used of God 's relationship to the cosmos, eg Hebrews 2:8, but our picture of how this works is not always realistic or healthy. Often Jeremiah 29:11,"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord , plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (ESV),  is quoted as a rationale for believing God has our every moment scripted, a blueprint in scrupulous detail of exactly how our lives will play out.

This verse of course lies within the prophetic tradition -  the place of possibility, of "if" and "then", of choices for good or for evil (e.g. Jeremiah 12:16-17). Straight away there are two possibilities for the future. Which one is God's blueprint?

As well as not dealing well with choice and the possibility of sin, the blueprint approach gives a distorted picture of God's character. God is not intent on squeezing us into a preconceived plan. God is much more a god of possibility, a god of opportunity, one who wants us to use the gifts and opportunities before us. In particular he is not the god who is in control so that we can stop worrying but carry on doing what we were going to do anyway. He is not the god who is in control so that we can muddle along trusting that he will work it out in some meaningful way despite us. He is not the god who is in control so that things will work out the way that we would like them to.

The image of God that I want to suggest is of a master chess player. The end of the game is assured; not because every individual move is known beforehand, but because of the skill and creativity of the master.
We choose how to join God in the game, based on the position of the pieces at the time, rather than trying to second guess the detail of a universal plan. We make our move, not fearful of missing the perfect move, but enthusiastically contributing the skill and creativity that we have been gifted. We make our contribution alongside the master and contributing to his purposes, knowing that his skill and power is completely adequate to use our offering and bring about the final outcome.