Man does what he wants, he is absolutely and undeniably free in every turn he makes, in every thought he thinks, in every decision he makes, and yet God is sovereign. God reigns over all things, and over every thought and every step and every action of man, and everything that man does has been ordained by God.
And you’d say “how can this be, this is a huge contradiction”, but it’s not, it’s just one of those things too high for us to reach, it’s beyond our comprehension.
Many will say that because man is free, he chooses whether to come to God or reject God, and I say that it is true, others will say that because God is sovereign, he orders every choice of man and of things to give him the gift of salvation. or drop it into damnation, and I say that’s true too,
And one will say, that is not possible! Show me where it says that in the scriptures, then I’ll refer you to John 3:16; For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. And to John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will resurrect him in the last day. Then I would refer you to Proverbs 16:9. The heart of man traces his path, but the Lord establishes his steps. Or we can add Joshua 24:15 and Revelation 3:20, and then Psalm 37:23 and Ephesians 1:4-5.
And so hundreds of verses in Scripture guide us through this remarkable truth, man’s destiny is his doing, yet God has predestined in every minute detail every breath he takes.
Charles Spurgeon puts it this way: Those who think that predestination and the fulfillment of divine purpose are contrary to the free will of man, do not know what they say, nor what they affirm. It would not be a challenge for God to carry out his own purpose, if he were dealing with sticks and stones, with granite and with trees; but this is the greatest of miracles, that creatures are free, absolutely free, and yet the divine purpose remains. Here is the wisdom. This is a deep inscrutable. The man walks without shackles, but he treads the same steps that God commanded him to tread, as surely as if handcuffs had bound him to the spot.
And certainly man chooses how he lives and in many cases even how he dies, he chooses career, lifestyle, friends, clothes, attitudes and future, he is free to study or not, to marry or have children, he chooses education. , job, and even where he lives, he chooses honor or dishonor, self-realization or self-destruction, and so on, yet God determines which way a man goes, what life he leads, even which woman he will marry and who he will . be his children, the only clothes he wears are in fact determined by God.
A man chooses to follow God or lead a life of darkness, and his choice will lead to glory or damnation, and it is all his own decision. Isaiah 55:6-7
However, God chooses those who will walk with Him, and who will seek a path of righteousness: Romans 8:28-30
Consider Romans 11:33, O depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgments, and how inscrutable his ways! Now Psalm 139:1-5, You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my going to bed; You know all my ways Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You surrounded me from behind and before, and laid your hand on me.
When we understand that the wisdom of the Lord is too high for us to reach, that His sovereign will prevail over all things, and that in His great compassion and love, like a loving father, He wishes only the best for us, then we will seek with everything. our heart, freely and because we want it that way, but understanding, and not trying to understand that He has chosen us to do so, because He had already predestined it so that we seek Him.
The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you, and have mercy on you; the Lord lift up his face upon you, and give you peace!
Jose A. Luna
A servant of Christ Jesus!