Jesus Café Ministries - Scripture Squad - Is man in control of his own destiny?

From: Erica
Is man in control of his own destiny? Or does God already have our lives planned out for us?

Hi Erica,
Thank you for your thought-provoking questions. Your question is one that both believers and nonbelievers have asked for many generations.

Let us start at the beginning! : )

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." GOD created!

Let's think about this! Out of nothingness God created. Man can't do that. Only God can create! Out of nothingness God created light, darkness, earth, water, sky, vegetation, animals, stars, sun and mankind. I read a book once called "When Your Rope Breaks," By Stephen Brown. The author makes the point that everything is God's because God created! God created. Period!

When God created man, He placed man in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15) to work and care for it. Now, let's concentrate on Genesis 2:16-17: "And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

God gave Adam (representing all mankind) a choice! He could obey God and live, or reject God and die. So we see, that it is God Himself who gives man a choice, what is called free will. God never forces Himself on us, but gives us the opportunity to choose. We have been given that ability by God.

I don't know if you are a parent or not, but this concept of Free Will vs. God's Control, was never so apparent to me than when I became a parent. From the start my husband and I knew this child must have guidelines and rules to obey for his own heath and protection. But as this child grew, we knew that he eventually he would have to choose for himself; to follow our rules and be obedient or to choose to disobey and suffer the consequences of his choice. As parents we hoped (and prayed) that he would obey by his own choosing, not because we forced him too. If I forced my son to always do my will, what would that teach him? What would that accomplish? Instead he is given the opportunity to learn and grow from his own choices. He also has the choice to love his parents, or scorn that love. We can't force him to love us.

Our relationship with God is much like that, except He is Sovereign. He created us with the ability to choose. And He desires us to choose Him! But he doesn't force us.

You asked if God has our lives planned out for us. God, being our Creator, has given us choices, but has also the ability to see the future. Because He is God, He has both the ability to let us make our own choices and to still be in control. Man is not in control of his own destiny. Man can only control things of which God has given him the ability to control.

Other verses to consider:

Psalm 8:3-8 : "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [3] and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas."

Psalm 139:13-16 : "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Jeremiah 1:5 : "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you......"

Amos 4:13 : "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth-- the LORD God Almighty is his name."

Romans 8: "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."

When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we become born again creatures. new creations in Christ.

2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (NKJ)

And because we are a new creation we no longer desire to go our own way, but we desire the things of God. Jesus is our example of this! In the book of John, Jesus is said to be acting not according to His own will, but according to the will of the heavenly Father <John 5:30; 6:38>. Indeed, doing the will of the Father is Jesus' nourishment <John 4:34>, and Jesus does nothing apart from the Father's will <John 5:19>. Luke confirms this when he quotes Jesus' statement in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me, nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done" <Luke 22:42>.

Because we have accepted the Love of God, we in turn willingly love Him! So our desires become His desires. Therefore we WANT to choose His will for our lives, and we actively seek that will.

2 Peter 3:9 : "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

If you do not know the Lord, I urge you to seek His face. His arms are always waiting!

(All verses taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.)

- The Scripture Squad :
TCCaleb, TCCaff, RuthCCC & DawnCCC