ESTABLISHED STEPS

In preparation for Sunday's sermon on guidance I've been struck by the tension between God's sovereignty and human responsibility in the Proverbs. On the one hand, all your decisions are yours, the future is open, so go ahead and make good ones. On the other, all your decisions are God's, in the sense that what you decide has already been decided by him, and so your future is fixed. Like here, in Prov. 16:9, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps".

Humanly speaking there is no conceivable way of resolving this tension. Although this is impossible to understand with our finite minds, it is an utterly practical and comforting truth. If the outcome of every decision was entirely up to you, you'd be fearful of making any decisions lest you make a bad one. Then, if your decisions don't matter, because whatever you decide has already been decided, you'll be passive and lazy. You can't live either way!

However, holding the tension, believing that your decisions are 100% yours and 100% God's, at the same time you can boldly "plan your course" and relax because "the Lord will establish your steps". Aren't you glad you are a Christian?

Yours in Christ
Gavin