Which way should I go? Maybe left... maybe right? Could go straight, but how will I know which direction is best?
What about shocking events? Someone you know, 42 years of age, dies suddenly from a heart attack. Was it in God’s plan?
I don’t believe that God plans for any life to be cut short. I don’t believe that God wants anything like that to happen to anyone, even bad people. I don’t believe that a premature death is punishment for some sin. I don’t believe that violent storms, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis in southern Asia are by the hand of God to punish people for not believing in Him. Think about this...
Does God plan that every 4 seconds, a child dies of preventable diseases? Did God plan for half a million people die in an earthquake in Haiti? Did God condemn 400,000 Vietnamese boat people to drown at sea while seeking a new life in a better country?
What kind of God would He be, if He did these kinds of things to innocent and defenseless humanity?
Some might argue that God is sovereign and in control of everything, and therefore everything that happens is all part of God’s master plan. We should all be sickened and frankly terrified by such a thought. The sort of God who could minutely plan bad things for the people he created, simply does not exist!
We all hear platitudes such as... “It was all in God’s plan for our lives.” “God is in control.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “God wanted another angel when someone dies.”
No argument that for God to be God, he is all-powerful and could do anything, but that doesn’t mean he DOES everything. If he planned out our lives in minute detail, we would be mere robots, puppets at the end of a string being controlled and manipulated, helplessly doing what we were never meant to be doing and having no control over our own lives.
As human beings, we have free will. We can make choices, some small, some big and profound, some not so good that have long lasting consequences. The power of free will affects every person in the world. We are all affected, not just by ones personal choices, but by other people’s choices as well.
Things which happen to all of us can be a result of choices or random happenings. (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12) Random events of nature which no human can either predict or control. Choices we make, either consciously or unconsciously, can result in actions which adversely affect ones life. Choices other people make, can result in actions which affect my life.
Most natural events are random and unpredictable. We do not know when a volcano will erupt. A family living in a fishing village in Sri Lanka had no way of knowing that a movement in the earth’s crust over a thousand miles away in Indonesia would cause a Tsunami which would destroy their lives, homes and livelihoods.
But we do have some choices to make when it comes to natural events. A volcano eventually produces very productive soil. Living on a volcano’s slopes can be very profitable, or disastrous. If we build our house on a flood plain of a river, we can take advantage of the soils deposited by previous floods, until the next big flood ruins what we have built.
There might be economic choices to make. An earthquake in Japan may not result in great losses because many buildings are earthquake-proof, whereas in Haiti an earthquake caused enormous loss of lives and homes.
We have some control over our own health. A fatal disease might be unpredictable and unavoidable but might have been prevented if we looked after our health and immune-system as a healthy living choice.
When God created all things he gave humankind a special ‘gift’ of free will. In nature, this makes us unique. An animal has some, but very little free will. They are mostly controlled by basic instincts. Material objects have no free will but act according to the laws of physics.
Having “free will” has its costs. If we accept that God gives us free choices, we have to accept that he cannot then interfere with those choices. It also means that he doesn’t interfere with other people’s choices either. That means that if someone drives carelessly, we might be involved in an accident through no fault of our own. Unforeseen events can and will affect all of us at some point in life.
The choices we make may be good choices, bad choices or neutral. But even a neutral choice can turn out to hurt us. We may decide to take the scenic route home, rather than the fast route. That is not a bad choice, or a good choice – but either could result in disaster or nothing at all.
We make hundreds of tiny choices every day. Most have no noticeable effect, but we have no way of knowing that. If we were to agonize over every tiny decision, then our lives would be unbearable. That is where faith come in. Faith is an assurance that whatever happens in our lives, that God will guide our choices, if we know what He expects of those who love Him and cause all to ‘work together for good’. All of God’s Word is a guide to living well in a dangerous sin-filled world. Knowing what we should do, does not guarantee that our choices will always be perfect, but it does assure us that we can cope with whatever comes... And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) A person who endures hardship, and bears up under life’s unforeseen events without caving under the pressure, will be a glorious example of faith and trust in God.
The greatest confidence Christians can have is to know that God is at work within your life and that, no matter what happens, in the end God’s love wins and you will be glorified with eternal life!
God does not control our choices but he can, and does guide us in our choices. He does not do it by pulling our strings as a cosmic puppeteer. He does it by engaging us in his Word. Some choices need little, or no guidance.
We all know that murder is a bad choice. We should not go through life asking God about every little thing: “Is it your will that I have a cup of tea”. That’s where faith comes in. Trust that God likes “tea” after all, He made it!
When we give up our lives to follow Jesus, follow His plan for Salvation, the Holy Spirit lives within us and help us in our choices. Making the right choices can benefit us – and those around us whose lives are impacted by our actions.
God does have a plan for the life of every man and women. His plan involves reconciliation, restoration and love. His plan is to make us all complete. He has made us all in His image. That means that HE has a free will too and freely gives of himself to the human race in love.
If we do not have free will, we cannot love. God loves us and we can love Him. He put us in a world which is seemingly random but can be overcome if man’s efforts go into making the world a better place. He gave us free will knowing we would often abuse the power by making wrong choices. But God also revealed himself in Jesus Christ and invites us to:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” and: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)
So, it is not about God controlling every detail of our lives... IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE.
