I don't think anyone would deny that they have "free will" and make hundreds of choices throughout the day. Will I get up on time? (my choice) Will I eat too much? (my choice) The list of choices we make is endless and if we didn't have free will, and God made all the choices for us, we would be nothing more than puppets on a string! Yet, don't we tell our selves that "God is in control?"
How is it possible that God is in control and we say that we have free will at the same time? Could it be that we have the free will to make good choices as well as bad ones We have the free will to pray each day or to turn our backs on God because we are so wrapped up in our own lives that we "don't have time" (for God). Who we date, what we wear, how much we pray, what we do each day with the time that God has blessed us with is completely up to us. Even in prison where the choices are made for us as to what we will wear, what and when we will eat, work, play and sleep....we still have a choice to pray and to use the time God has blessed us with to get to know God.....or to be kind.....to make the choice to begin living our lives for God. Yet, God is in control. He allows us to make bad choices, to run from him and towards evil. But God is always with us. He knows every hair on our head. There is a Master Plan that we will never full comprehend other than to know that in the end, God will never cease to exist just as God is the beginning of all things.....He is the Alpha and the Omega.....who can truly comprehend that?
Often times our choices are simply our way of being in control. We want to control who we spend time with and how we spend our time. We want to control our work environment and/or those who work with us so that we may "look better" or grab a spot that will put us in a better position for a promotion. There are some who will do whatever it takes to climb the corporate ladder, whether it means hurting another or costing another their job, to "be in control" and therefore get what they want. Fighting for control of our lives can happen at the expense of others but in the end, it usually happens at our own expense. We know deep down that we are never really "in control." Life is a continual battle. We want to control our looks, our friends, our habits, our time. We battle for control but we will never win the battle. Why? Because God IS in control. In the end, we will have to succumb to the will of God....for all that we have is a blessing from no one else but God! God gives us the strength and intellect to perform; he gives us the opportunity to multiply our talents and riches; he gives us our health; he gives us our families; he gives us the world in which we live. Are we jealous of the success of another? We can control whether we applaud the success of another or whether we are resentful. Do we have gratitude for all that we have? Or are we never satisfied? We have free will to choose to be grateful for all that we have....and even all that we have not. When we develop a trusting relationship with God...when we choose to pray each day and give back to God at least a small portion of the blessing of time...it will become easier to relinquish control.....to allow God to use us as He chooses....as his instruments of love, of peace, understanding. This is not easy and will most likely be our challenge for our entire lifetime. Yet, is is worth the challenge because in the end, we are given no choice. God is in control!
Father, we pray that you will help us to have the patience we need and the insight to look at our thoughts and actions honestly, so that we can stop trying to control our lives, stop trying to control those around us but rather, choose to take each day and do everything in gratitude for all that you have given to us. We thank you for the blessing of time and pray that we spend our time in accordance with your great Master Plan. We know that in the end, every result of our thoughts and deeds are in your control. We know that you are using us as the thread to weave your final master plan. Amen.
(respectfully submitted by Jan)
Sir 15:14 When God, in the beginning, created man, he made him subject to his own free choice. The eyes of God see all he has made; he understands man's every deed. No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies."
1 Peter 2: 16 "Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God."
James 3:16-17 "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity."
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