Last time, I spoke of desiring to let God write my life
story in the way that He wants it written, even if certain excerpts differ from
the way that I personally would have written it. It occurred to me that someone might read my
words and inwardly say in response, “Kevin, when you speak of ‘letting God
write your story,’ you make it sound like you are just a puppet on a string, or
a pre-programmed robot, with no say in your actions whatsoever. You’re not some character in a book; you have
the ability to choose the direction your life goes.”
Certainly we do have
the wonderful gift of choice, but this doesn’t somehow negate or overrule God’s
sovereign plan. Let me give you some
Scripture verses. I love Job’s
affirmation of faith in Job 42:2; he says to God, “I know that you can do all
things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”
In Isaiah 46, God says, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I
please…What I have said that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I
will do” (verses 10-11). Revelation 3:7
says Jesus opens doors no one can close and he closes doors no one can open. Yes, on the one hand, we make real choices
that carry weight, but on the other hand, we aren’t smart to somehow ruin God’s
plans.
To illustrate this, consider Joseph from the book of
Genesis. He wasn’t a victim of
circumstance when his brothers sold him to Egypt, rather than murder him as
they originally planned. He wasn’t a
victim of circumstance when he was thrown in prison after being falsely accused
by a scorned married woman who was angry that Joseph had simply resisted her
sexual advances. While in that prison, Joseph
had a cellmate who had a troubling dream.
Joseph interpreted the dream: the cellmate was going to be reinstated to
his position in Pharaoh’s office. And he
was, just as Joseph said. Thus, when Pharaoh
himself began having a troubling dream, the man was able to say to Pharaoh, “You
know, when I was in prison this guy was able to interpret my dream, I bet he can for you too.”
Joseph was able to interpret the dream: there was going
to be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph counseled Pharaoh to put someone in
charge of storing up food during the years of plenty, so rations would be
available during the famine. Pharaoh
says, “Great idea! How about you?” Ultimately, Joseph was made second in command
of Egypt, behind only Pharaoh himself.
Let me be clear to avoid any misunderstanding: I’m not
saying that God will eventually give you a high rank of authority, just as He
did for Joseph. That was God’s plan for
Joseph, but that’s not necessarily His plan for you. My point is real choices were made, but God
was sovereignty working; God was writing Joseph’s life story, and nothing was
going to thwart that plan. I don’t know
about you, but I find that encouraging.
Kevin
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