Proverbs 16:9. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Do we have free will or is God sovereignly in charge of everything?
Yes. Yes, we have a heart that is free.
Man is free to plan his own way. Free to make decisions and look ahead. Free to choose right or wrong, good or evil. Free to trust God with his whole heart, or free to lean on his own understanding. And in the end he is responsible for his freely made choices.
God will always allow free will because God is always pleased by our faith. Without free will there is no room for faith, and thus no room for love. Only robots.
But at the same time, it is also true that God sovereignly establishes our steps. The word establish is used in Genesis to describe how God set everything in place at creation. We might even go as far as to say that when God created the universe he established our individual steps, the course of our lives. He wrote our days in his book. Knowing everything that will happen and could happen, God created the universe where we would have the free will and faith to plan our ways in following God, yet at the same time all God’s plans for us would also come to fruition.
What an amazing God!
This paradox of free will and divine sovereignty co-existing is good news. It gives us both great motivation to move forward of our own free will, not resigned to some sort of Christian determinism that removes the importance of true faith and trust, not to mention volition and responsibility. While at the same time the joining of free will to divine sovereignty removes all fear of the future and of failure. We simply cannot mess up our own lives. God is still in control.
Paul taught us this same truth in Romans 8:
Romans 8:28-30. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Paul takes the wisdom of Proverbs 16:9 to its extreme in Christ. Our steps are established all the way to conformity to the image of Jesus. Nothing we do, no failure, no mistake, no wrong choice, no regret, no sin, can take us out of God’s established steps for our lives in Christ – transformation into his likeness.
So yes, in Christ exercise your free will faith, for this pleases God when you choose Jesus from the heart. But also walk daily in the faith of knowing that every step you take is part of God’s plan to make you like his Son.
You: Do you live with the regret of past mistakes?
You in Christ: How does knowing that in Christ you ARE being made into his image help to remove regrets and guilt from your heart?
Christ in you: Have you been too passive in your spiritual growth? What free will choices do you need to make in order to be conformed to Christ’s image?
Pray: Father, you work all things for my good. What a wonderful thought. Help me to make my choices today with confidence and wisdom as I seek to become more like your Son. Amen.
To Live is Christ 