🌌 You Don’t Control the Universe — But God Does
Faith. Trust. Surrender. God’s timing. Peace. Christian inspiration.
Those are the words that draw millions of souls into prayer, yet they are also the hardest lessons for us to live.
Every day, people wake up trying to manage the uncontrollable. We micromanage our time, relationships, goals, even our emotions — believing if we could just get everything aligned, life would finally feel secure. But control, as comforting as it seems, is an illusion.
I learned that truth the day I picked up my “universal remote.”
It was supposed to make everything easier. One tool to simplify the chaos of technology, a single device to command every screen. Yet there I was, standing in my living room, overwhelmed by life, pointing that remote toward the sky and half-jokingly pressing the buttons as if I could somehow quiet the noise of my world.
Nothing happened.
No storm stopped.
No fear disappeared.
No clarity came.
And that’s when I realized — maybe God was teaching me something profound in that small, humorous disappointment.
I was never meant to control the universe. I was meant to trust the One who does.
That tiny moment became a spiritual earthquake inside my soul.
Chapter One — The Illusion of Control
We like to think we’re the directors of our own stories. We plan our next scenes, we choose our settings, and we even try to rewrite the lines when life doesn’t go the way we expected.
But faith tells a different story.
Faith says: You’re not the director — you’re the character who learns to trust the Author.
Proverbs 19:21 says:
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
That verse has followed me through every high and low. It reminds me that even my most well-intentioned plans will crumble if they’re not aligned with God’s purpose.
Maybe you’re in that place right now — doing everything “right” and yet nothing seems to move. You pray, you work, you push, you plan… and still, nothing happens. You keep pressing buttons on that invisible remote, hoping something will finally respond.
But what if the silence isn’t punishment?
What if it’s protection?
What if God isn’t saying no — He’s saying not yet?
When you can’t control what’s happening, the greatest act of strength is surrender.
That’s when faith begins to grow. Because the absence of control doesn’t mean the absence of God — it means He’s closer than ever, steering your story toward something better.
Chapter Two — God Holds the Remote
If we could control everything — every sunrise, every storm, every heartbreak — we’d destroy ourselves trying to manage perfection. We were never built to carry that kind of power.
God holds the remote for a reason.
He knows when to press pause.
He knows when to hit play.
And sometimes, when the noise of life gets too loud, He gently mutes it so you can finally hear His voice again.
Romans 8:28 reminds us:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”
It doesn’t say “some things.” It says all things — every delay, every heartbreak, every disappointment. Nothing is wasted.
Every pause is preparation.
Every silence is shaping your faith.
Every unanswered prayer is an invitation to trust.
I think back to that universal remote often. It makes me smile now, because I see how symbolic it was. I wanted power. God wanted surrender. I wanted immediate results. God wanted eternal growth.
And He’s still teaching me that lesson every single day.
When we finally hand Him the remote, we stop worrying about what scene we’re in — because we know the ending is already written in His victory.
If you ever doubt that truth, pause and watch this deeply moving reflection, Faith Over Control — Let God Direct Your Story. This video will remind you that surrender isn’t weakness; it’s where real peace begins.
Chapter Three — The Freedom of Letting Go
Faith is not about control.
It’s about confidence — in God’s goodness even when you can’t see the path ahead.
Maybe you’re in a season that feels unfair. Maybe you’ve lost something precious, or you’re standing at a crossroads where nothing makes sense. You’re tired of pressing buttons that do nothing.
Friend, that’s exactly where transformation happens.
When your hands are finally empty, your heart becomes available.
When your plans fall apart, God’s purpose can finally fall into place.
When you release control, you create room for grace.
You may think you’ve been waiting on God — but sometimes, He’s been waiting on you to let go.
Isaiah 43:19 says:
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth—do you not perceive it?”
That verse is a promise. God is always doing something new — even when it feels like nothing’s moving.
The silence of Heaven doesn’t mean absence; it means construction.
While you’re waiting, God is building.
While you’re doubting, God is aligning.
While you’re crying, God is rewriting the scene.
And when He presses play again, the story will unfold in ways you couldn’t have imagined.
Chapter Four — Why God’s Plan Is Always Better
We get frustrated when life doesn’t match our plans, but if God ever gave us complete control, we’d press the wrong buttons every time.
We’d fast-forward through growth.
We’d rewind to pain we should have left behind.
We’d pause at comfort and miss our calling.
That’s why the Creator holds the controls — because He sees the entire movie, not just the scene we’re living in.
And here’s what’s even more beautiful: God’s love doesn’t depend on your ability to understand the story. It depends on His nature — unchanging, compassionate, sovereign.
Even when you don’t feel Him moving, He’s working all things together for good. That means every failure still fits into His framework. Every tear still waters your purpose. Every delay still delivers something divine.
If you can hold onto that truth, you can face anything.
Because even if the universe feels unresponsive, God never is.
Chapter Five — A Prayer for the One Who’s Tired of Trying
Heavenly Father,
Today I surrender the illusion of control.
I give You my plans, my expectations, and my fears.
Teach me to trust You in the pauses and the storms.
Help me to see that when nothing moves, You are still moving in me.
Replace my anxiety with assurance, my panic with peace, and my control with confidence in Your plan.
Even when I don’t understand the scene, I trust the Author.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Chapter Six — The Day You Let Go
There will come a day — maybe soon — when you stop trying to force the outcome.
You’ll exhale.
You’ll whisper, “God, I trust You.”
And in that quiet surrender, Heaven will shift.
Because that’s the moment the Director presses play.
That’s the moment your heart aligns with the rhythm of grace.
That’s the moment you realize that the remote was never yours to hold — but your story was always safe in His hands.
Chapter Seven — From Chaos to Calm
What would life look like if you stopped trying to control everything?
Imagine waking up without the weight of worry, without the obsession to fix, manage, or predict the next step.
Peace isn’t found in control. It’s found in confidence.
Confidence that your Father is still good.
Confidence that His timing is still perfect.
Confidence that even the chapters that make no sense will one day make perfect sense.
When you start living from that confidence, you begin to see miracles in the mundane.
You start noticing God’s fingerprints on what used to feel like failure.
You start realizing that even detours were divine appointments in disguise.
Because peace doesn’t come from pressing buttons — it comes from pressing into Him.
Chapter Eight — The Hidden Miracle in Surrender
Sometimes we think miracles are sudden and spectacular — oceans parting, fire falling, mountains moving. But there’s another kind of miracle: the one that happens inside you the moment you let go.
The miracle of peace replacing panic.
The miracle of stillness replacing striving.
The miracle of joy showing up in the middle of the unknown.
That’s what God wants for you. Not perfection. Not control. Just peace.
Because peace is the sign that you’ve stopped trying to play God and started trusting Him instead.
When that shift happens, everything changes. You stop being a director — and start being a disciple. You stop reacting to fear — and start responding to faith.
And that’s when you realize… the universe was never yours to manage, but it was always yours to marvel at.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been holding the remote of your life too tightly, loosen your grip today.
Hand it over. Let God write your story His way.
He already knows the ending — and it’s beautiful.
You may not control the universe, but you can control one thing: your surrender.
And sometimes, that’s where the greatest miracles begin.
Watch Douglas Vandergraph’s inspiring faith-based videos on YouTube.
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With faith and gratitude,
Your friend in Christ,
Douglas Vandergraph
Check out Douglas Vandergraph's new Christian book on Amazon.
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