Did God create the universe, the earth, mankind…and then things went badly and took Him quite by surprise? But then it was too late, so He came up with a plan to fix it all by sending Jesus?

No, it seems pretty evident that God knew what would happen beforehand. As we try to understand how our free will works together with God’s sovereignty, the first thing we need to grasp is that God is infinite.

The following is an excerpt from Quantum Temporal Dynamics.

Within our linear [past, present and future] framework of time and space, infinity is impossible to accurately describe, mathematically or physically. Infinity is null (zero); there exists [and cannot exist] no workable concept of size, time, distance, weight or any other finite definition or description within an infinite continuum.

God exists outside of time. He is not confined to our world. And yet, we often try to ‘explain Him’ within the context of the physical laws of the universe. Is this not a little crazy? He is eternal, no beginning, no end. One God, three persons. We are finite. He is infinite. I can’t comprehend infinity.

This excerpt is from exactlywhatistime.com  regarding space-time:

Modern physicists therefore do not regard time as “passing” or “flowing” in the old-fashioned sense, nor is time just a sequence of events which happen: both the past and the future are simply “there”, laid out as part of four-dimensional space-time, some of which we have already visited and some not yet. So, just as we are accustomed to thinking of all parts of space as existing even if we are not there to experience them, all of time (past, present and future) are also constantly in existence even if we are not able to witness them. Time does not “flow”, then, it just “is”. This view of time is consistent with the philosophical view of eternalism or the block universe theory of time (see the section on Modern Philosophy).

 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” (Exodus 3:14) NIV

More on Einstein’s theory, from the Independent.co.uk  ‘Einstein’s Theory Is Proved …by Steve Connor:

This is a practical demonstration of the “twin paradox”, a thought experiment of Einstein’s special theory of relativity which states that an identical twin sibling who travels through space in a rocket will actually age more slowly than the other twin living on terra firma.

I don’t pretend to understand a lot of the scientific stuff. But, I am pretty sure that if we try to put God in our ‘box’ of what we do know and understand, living in our finite world, we probably won’t get very far, except around in circles.

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.

                                                             (Isaiah 46:9,10)

It is hard to imagine being able to do anything, or to even be able to think outside of time. Yet, God can do this. It is hard to imagine a being who hears and deals with thousands and thousands of prayers in the same instant…..who notices how many hairs are on your head (and this number is constantly changing)…not just your head, but millions of other heads. He notices every time a bird lands or falls to the ground! (Think of the number of birds on the planet, and then think about noticing this for each one of them!)  It is hard to imagine a being who has no beginning and no end. It is hard to understand Jesus as fully man and at the same time, fully God. It is difficult to understand one God, yet at the same time, three persons. Yet, many believers accept these things as truth, and then they put God back in the ‘box‘ and ask, ‘How can God be sovereign while at the same time man has free will?

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am ! ”
 (John 8:58) NLT