Decisions, Decisions...

"I think I'm being punished," she said.

"Really?  How?"

"Well, I think God wanted me to buy the house on Rosewood instead of the house on Juniper.  Everything's gone wrong since I signed the papers."

Where does God’s will end, and man’s freedom of choice begin?

Who among us would want our children to love us because we said so? How successful can we expect a relationship to be if it is built on fear, obligation or a lack of better options? God didn’t want automatic servitude and obedience, He wanted relationship. He created our minds -- pretty absurd to think He did not want us to use them! Free will starts with our ability to reject or serve Him, but the truth is, God’s will shall be accomplished whether we are “in the boat," or not. I will tell you, the benefits to being a sailor over a swimmer are enormous!

“God does not wish to see any of his children suffer, or do without, or stray,” doesn’t mean they won’t – any more than saying that of our own children doesn’t mean they won’t; sometimes allowing our children a little hardship is the best lesson. Difference is, God has the power to change the tide, and the sovereignty to decide how, when, or if He will.

What about our choices? A job with a corner office over the job with a key to the executive washroom? A hike in the park with my family over reading God’s Word in the back yard? Personally, and perhaps with some cowardice, that’s when I believe the truth lies somewhere in between. If we are listening when He speaks, walking where He leads, following when He beckons, living how He commands, then thinking of Him as being outsmarted or disappointed by the child who chooses a shih tzu over a poodle limits Him to humanity’s providence and justice. The key is to be at one with Him, in daily fellowship with Him, desiring to honor and live for Him, and trusting Him wherever the journey leads.