We need to know who's in charge. Who can we call? Who can we blame? Who do we criticize?

Those are all good questions, especially when life circumstances seem to spin out of control. There are leaders and experts, even leadership bodies, but many times everybody is short on answers.

A person who knows and fears God would say, "God is in control." That is the right answer. But when you say God is in control, several dilemmas remain. What about disasters, natural and man-made? What about sickness, premature death, tyranny, etc.?

Let us go back to the beginning. God is the Creator (Genesis 1:1). God set everything in place. He put the stars in their courses, He created the exact amount, and He calls each star by name (Psalm 147:4). God divided the seas from the dry land and set boundaries for the oceans (Job 38:8-11). God made everything.

God created man and woman in His image (Genesis 1:27). He put them in an idyllic setting called the Garden of Eden. He provided everything that anybody or anything needed.

God seeks to glorify Himself—that is, to be loved and worshiped for who He is. That could not happen if everybody were a robot and pre-programmed by God to dispense certain words, etc. No, there had to be choices in order for God to get glory.

Did God create evil? No, but He did give power for His created beings to choose against Him. There is a path to God; there is a path away from God.

Satan was the first to choose his own way. Satan was the crowning achievement of God's creation (Isaiah 14:12-15), and Satan rebelled. His rebellion continues today. His choices made him the prince of this world (John 12:31). Satan has put systems in place: force, greed, selfishness, ambition, pleasure. He allies with the fallen human nature to work his wiles and control his kingdom.

Satan will not last; he is temporary. God will prevail over him (Revelation 20:7-10). In the meantime, God is in control. Even Satan is limited by God (Job 1:9-12). God is in control, and His purposes will prevail.

How shall we then live? First, recognize that every visible authority is established by God (Romans 13:1-2). God has put them there for His purposes, and His ways are far above our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Second, recognize that God has given us access to Himself through Jesus Christ the Son of God. We can pray. Proverbs 21:1 declares, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." We can ask God to change the direction of our leaders.

Third, seriously consider eternity. Everything we see is temporary; it will burn up (2 Peter 3:10). The only things that will survive are the Word of God and our immortal souls. Jesus gives us perspective in Matthew 10:28: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Who's in charge? God! How do we live? We fear God, we pray, and we remember that eternity waits. Steel yourself for these troubled times, but most of all, prepare for eternity by believing on Jesus Christ the Son of God.