Several recent posts I have read have asserted that God is 100% in control of every tiny aspect of my life, as if that should be a comfort to me. Thankfully, this is not a biblical position.
I believe that there is no luck. However, I have free will, as do all other humans. Therefore, God does not orchestrate every single thing that happens in our lives. He does have our best interests in mind, and he does intervene at times, particularly in response to prayer. He promises to work out even the biggest disasters for our ultimate good. However, God does not need anything from us, not even glory. He will not force any human to do what is best for them and those around them; God is a lover, not a rapist. God will allow us to suffer temporarily because of the poor decisions that we or others make. And, although God probably can see the future (all the possibilities, because the future is not predetermined, since humans have free will), apparently he does not always choose to do so. In Jeremiah 7:31. 19:5, & 32:35, God says that it did not even "enter his mind" that his people would do such evil things.
Although this popular idea that God determines every little thing that happens is intended to be comforting, when you think about it from the point of view of someone who does not know our loving God, it really is not. The thought that I am a mere puppet on a string who does things for the amusement and glory of a narcissistic God is not comforting at all, and that is the picture that can easily be painted for unbelievers when we go beyond what God tells us in the Bible. Although we can be confident in the big picture – good wins, evil is defeated – we learn from the Bible that the details of the future are not set in stone. All of these verses say that God is flexible - that he is open to changing his plans (repenting) in response to what humans choose to do: Genesis 6:6–7; 1 Samuel 15:11, Exodus 32:12–14; 2 Samuel 24:16; 1 Chronicles 21:15; Psalms 106:45; Jeremiah 4:28; 18:8; 26:3, 13, 19; 42:10; Joel 2:13–14; Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9–10; 4:2.
God COULD pull all the strings and know every detail in advance, but the Bible clearly says that he does not choose to do so. And that should be a truly comforting thought, because it means that God not only cares for us, he also respects us as individuals enough to allow himself to be vulnerable to the consequences of our poor choices. That willingness to be vulnerable to our choices is an aspect of God’s character that is truly profound; it allows for a mature loving relationship between God and each of us.