If you glance at your news feed for just a few seconds, it seems like the world is spinning out of control. Terrorists overtaking entire nations. Earthquakes killing thousands. Peaceful motorcycle enthusiasts suddenly breaking out into unexplainable violence.

But no matter how chaotic the world seems to be, Paul makes an astounding claim in Colossians 1: Christ is holding “all things together.” If, for some reason, at some moment Jesus stopped holding things together, then everything would instantly fall apart. Our lives, our relationships, and even our world. Here are ten ways Christ is ruling at all times:

1. Christ rules over history. Job 12 says, “God makes nations great, and he destroys them: he enlarges nations, and leads them away.” If America stays at the top of the world, that’s because Christ is king. If America falls like the Roman Empire fell, that’s because Christ is king.

2. Christ rules over laws and regulations. Proverbs 21 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” He turns the hearts of presidents, congressmen, governors, city councilmen, and the Department of Planning and Permitting. If there’s a law or regulation you don’t like, it’s there because Christ allowed it.

3. Christ rules over inanimate objects. In Joshua 10, he even made the sun stand still. He reigns over big and small! He’s the king over the car that gets you to work every morning and the car that broke down three times in the last three days. That’s why Jonathan Edwards made a resolution that he would never get angry at inanimate objects. That’s getting angry directly at Jesus!

4. Christ rules over the weather. ”To the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’ and to the shower and the rain, ‘Be strong.’ . . . By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.” (Psalm 148). When you get a double-overhead swell with light offshore winds, that’s because Christ is king. When you plan a 1st-birthday luau with 200 people that gets rained out,  that’s still because Christ is king.

5. Christ rules over random events. Proverbs 16 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the LORD.” Rolling the dice, flipping a coin, tossing down the card … Christ decides which way each one of them goes. So even in the events in your life that seem the most random — the things that are confusing and complicated — Christ reigns!

6. Christ rules over your needs. That’s why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we should pray for our daily bread. Because he gives us bread and everything else. Yes, you work and make money, and go to Safeway to pay for your bread. But he’s still the one who provides it for you. If there’s something you think you need that you’re not getting, remember that Christ reigns. If you really need it, he’ll give it to you.

7. Christ rules over your successes and failures. “Not from the east or from the west comes lifting up; but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Psalm 75). If you get promoted, it’s because Christ reigns. If you get laid off, it’s because Christ reigns.

8. Christ rules over your kids. Psalm 127 says that children are “a heritage from the LORD.” They come from him. So if your kids turn out to be well-behaved, polite, and successful, it’s not because of you. It’s the Lord. If your kids turn out to be whiny and bratty, it’s probably because of you! But even so, Christ is still king over them.

9. Christ rules over evil. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery he said,  “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.” God didn’t create the evil, and he didn’t cause the evil, but he used the evil because he’s the king over evil! If there’s something happening in your life right now that seems evil, Christ reigns over it. Even the evil in your heart…

10. Christ rules over your sin. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus gives us victory over sin because he reigns over sin. That’s possible due to the fact that he’s the “firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18). The creator, sustainer, and king of the universe died to take away your sin. But he didn’t stay dead. He’s the firstborn from the dead. Out of the dead. He came out of death and ascended into heaven, so now he wants to reign over your life with love, and power, and grace.

You just need to trust him as your king.