God's History
Bruce Almighty
Throughout the film, God makes subtle appearances around Bruce Nolan, posing as a homeless man and holding up signs that are in fact, messages to
Bruce After receiving endless complaining and blame from Bruce, God decided to set things straight with Bruce. He invites Bruce to a warehouse to meet, by leaving His phone number on his alarm clock that constantly beeped. In the warehouse, he meets a janitor who reveals himself to be God, and proves His powers to Bruce. He confronts Bruce for the constant complaining in his life, and wants to help him realize how difficult it is to be God. As such, He gives Bruce all of His powers.
Initially in denial about having God's powers, Bruce eventually comes to terms with it. God appears shortly afterwards, and explains that Bruce may use His powers in any way he chooses under two conditions: he cannot tell anybody he is God, and cannot interfere with free will.
Bruce decides to use his powers mainly for his own personal gain: such as getting Evan Baxter fired from his anchor position so he can take place, getting revenge on the gang that previously assaulted him, and pleasing his girlfriend Grace. As voices start to build up in his head, God explains that he is receiving prayers, reminding him to do the job he was given. In responding to the prayers, he takes the easy way out by simply responding "Yes to all."
When Bruce is dumped by Grace at a party celebrating his promotion, God sheds light on how Bruce's selfish use of his powers has made him less happy. Later on, as Bruce's first time as anchor, the city has erupted into chaos, prompting him to call for God's help. By this time, Bruce has finally taken to heart the idea of being responsible for his own destiny, cementing the films theme: "be the miracle."
Eventually, Bruce learns that Grace has been praying for his happiness in her absence, and her final prayer is to no longer be in love. Feeling deeply saddened, he surrenders to God, no longer wanting to have His powers. He is hit by a truck and meets God in heaven. God reminds Bruce of his natural entertainment value, and teaches him to pray. Bruce wishes for Grace to be happy, and to find a partner who would treat her the way she deserved. God revives Bruce and Grace rekindles with him. At the end, God reveals Himself to be the homeless man who held up the signs.
Evan Almighty
In the sequel,
Evan Almighty, which takes place from the perspective of Bruce’s rival at work, God aims to help Evan in his endeavor to change the world. In response, God initially hints at the allusion of Noah’s Ark through the unusual changes that Evan undergoes in his life, such as the number 614 constantly appearing in front of him. Initially Evan picks up the hints, he would dismiss them, before God appears personally and instructs him to build an ark, as this is his opportunity to change this world, which ties in with his message of committing one Act of Random Kindness. The ark would be crucial for an upcoming flood event, and he uses the resources provided to build this ark.
Although the unusual changes in Evan’s life would cost his job in Congress, as well as put a strain in his relationship with his wife, he remained motivated to finish the ark. In addition, God would disguise himself as a waiter in a restaurant where He would visit her, to ensure that their bond is preserved. This motivates her to rekindle with Evan and help him build it. As the flood event comes to pass, much of the townspeople hopped on the ark in time, saving their lives as their homes get destroyed. As the flood directs the ark to the Capitol, Evan is able to hold Congressman Long accountable for enabling the flood to occur, as he had cut corners to build the local dam at a cheap price, leading to its failure.
As Evan’s life returns back to normal, he gets his job back and is commended for changing the world for the better, which leads to him being closer to his wife and kids. He is reminded of how one Act of Random Kindness, an abbreviation of ark, is important in doing one’s part in changing the world.
