Dear God,
I look back and I see the ways that Your plans have overruled my own. And it all has been for the best. I don’t always see it. There are some things I still don’t understand, but I pray for the humility to accept what I cannot control.
Love,
Grace
The deciding factor of our lives is not in the circumstances. “If only” isn’t something you need to be concerned about when it comes to God. Many times in my life, I’ve thought to myself: if only this happened, then it would’ve worked out.
If only my application was better, they would’ve taken me!
If only I did this, we would be together.
If only I had said this instead, then they would’ve changed their minds.
We think that we have way more control than we do. At church, I’ve been listening to the story of Ruth again with fresh ears. Maybe Ruth was thinking, if only my husband hadn’t died. Maybe Naomi was thinking if only she hadn’t left for Moab. If only if only if only. God had already set the course of their lives. There was no room for their “what if’s” because God was there and God only deals in “what is”.
Does that mean we have no say or agency in our lives? That we’re no better than the Sims? No way! What it does mean is that we can make a multitude of plans, but only God directs us where we end up going.
Proverbs 16:9, NIV: In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
You can make all the effort in the world to make something happen, but if God doesn’t do it then it will never come to fruition. In the same way, you can make mistakes and go down the wrong path, but God will still take you where you need to go. God’s grace covers us in these ways.
Anyone who believes in God knows this well. No one wants to believe in God out of their own nature. Our nature wants to be our own god. But God’s will was for us to believe. God’s destiny was always for us to become Christian. How it happens, when it happens, and why it happens are all variables but whether or not it happens is up to God’s discretion.
I need to tell you the really cool story of Moses. Moses is a man God chooses to lead His people out of their enslavement in Egypt. Pharaoh is the roadblock for them leaving. Moses’ job…convince Pharaoh to let God’s people go.
Now, we have to zoom out. God is going to let His people leave Egypt. That’s already decided for. So, it could’ve been Moses or someone else who asked Pharaoh to let them go. Moses did not major in public speaking. If anything he had a stutter. He was really shy too. So, if you -- my wonderful blog reader -- was picking someone to be your speaker, is Moses your first, second, or third pick?
Why does God choose someone like Moses when anyone else could’ve done the job? Not only that, other people with better qualifications existed. It wasn’t like Moses was the only Hebrew man in Egypt. God wanted to use Moses because it wasn’t Moses’ speaking ability or persuasive skills that was going to seal the deal. It was God that was going to be the deciding factor.
Pause. You. Me. Let’s put ourselves in Moses’ sandals. We’re going up to the big bad Pharaoh, LIKE GOD TOLD US TO, and he says no! He not only says no, but he makes every Hebrew person work even harder now in response to our request. Following God not only led us to the “no” but it led us to even worse conditions.
Wouldn’t you think you did a bad job? Maybe you should’ve phrased it differently. Or maybe you should’ve met Pharaoh after he had lunch. What if you asked Pharaoh nicely? What if you hadn’t been demanding enough?
Why didn’t it work?
Because God wasn’t ready to have them leave yet.
It wasn’t about Moses. It isn’t about you. You could've made your application better. You could’ve prayed more. You could’ve asked them on a date before their ex came back into their lives. You could’ve done so many things differently. But it was God who was gonna decide if it happened or not. We have to stop thinking that the external circumstances overrule what God has in store for our lives.
It was never about Moses.
Now, I want to also say yeah, maybe showing up late isn’t a good idea if you want a job interview. Also, maybe asking someone out when it’s a bad time isn’t a good idea. We also need wisdom. I’m not saying don’t try or just haphazardly live your life. I’m saying that we should all do our best. We should all obey God. We should all use wisdom, discernment, and prayerful consideration in all our choices.
I’m also saying that I believe that we should do everything that we can do, then leave the rest to God. We do whatever is possible to make something work, and then we let God decide the outcome.
If you show up with your best resume, one hour early, give the best interview, ask all the right questions, and send a follow up thank you email, you did your part. If you prayed, fasted, and did everything you could before asking that person out, you did your part. Now, God says “go or no”. And we accept it. And we still believe that God knows what’s best. And we still believe that God can tell us to do something only for it not to work out.
It wasn’t about Pharaoh too. We think that the obstacles in our lives are what’s keeping us from good things. We think that if only they weren’t in our way then it would’ve worked out. We think the obstacles define our circumstances, but they have never overruled God.
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses. Exodus 9:12
God makes the final decision. There is no need to worry. What will happen is up to God’s discretion. Keep living faithfully. Keep doing your best. Have no regrets. No "you could’ve done better" or more. Just resting, knowing that God’s directing the course of your life out of love for you.
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