Is God Intricately Involved in World History?

How involved is God in history? Is he watching from a distance how things are going, as many people (often without saying it out loud) assume? Isaiah tells us a different story:

It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’ And I will raise up her ruins again. “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry. “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ”

Isaiah 44:26b-28 (NASB)

God here claims involvement in

• natural events (the sea, rivers going dry)
• political events (leaders coming to hold power)
• community/national events (rebuilding of the capital city, the temple)

Things don't just happen by chance. Note, however, that God's claim of power does not automatically mean the reverse - that everything that ever happens must have been willed by Him to be so.