Predestination is a wonderful thing, too wonderful for my finite brain to fully understand. When I was in my mother’s womb, God saw me, knew me and foresaw all my days! Too marvelous for comprehension! No one can fathom our Heavenly Father’s infinite wisdom. Romans 8:29 declares “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
We often refer to our spiritual “journey” with the Lord. Ask the question, “Where am I on this journey?” In the natural we purchase a ticket for an ocean cruise or a train journey. The ticket for our spiritual journey was purchased with the shed blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary. I began my spiritual journey when I received salvation and now I am on “the train to Heaven”, or maybe I see myself on the top deck of “H.M.S. Destiny”, in His Majesty’s service.
A journey can be very smooth at times. We all love those occasions when we can sit back, relax and enjoy the journey. When you are on a train or ship, you are not in the driver’s seat or at the helm of the boat. Your ticket gave you access to your transport to a particular destination, predestined by another, but you made a choice to embark on the journey and you cannot control the destination. So….am I on the way, by the way, or have I, lost the way?
At a train station, a platform ticket can be purchased. This entitles one to be in the station, purchase a cup of coffee, relax and watch the people making progress towards their destinations, but it does not permit you to get on the train. This is being “by the way“, you are just an observer. If, however, the price has been paid for a ticket to ride, I can mount the train and get aboard to my destination. This is “on the way.”
If a train is bound for Scotland and I disembark at Manchester, I have “lost my way.” I can only reach my destination when I re-embark the train of destiny. When I lose my way, repentance releases the hand of God to guide me back in the right direction. My choice is imperative. God created us with the power of choice. He gave us a free will. In my daily choices I either choose God or the devil, (Deuteronomy 30:19) Life or death lies in the power of the tongue, (Proverbs 18:21 & James 3). Our words are creative, therefore choose life! Our daily choices create our lifestyle. Yes, we are predestined, but God’s sovereignty gloves our human responsibility, which is our choice.
What MUST God do in sovereignty that I cannot do? What must I do in human responsibility (choice) that God will not do? God’s sovereignty gloves human responsibility.
Do you ever find yourself preventing God working because you are standing where He should be, trying to “get things done”, “helping God out?” Surrender means taking one’s hands off the situation and allowing God to do things His way and in His timing. There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God where I learn to trust Him. The storms of life may blow, but here, I can find the rest of God, a safe haven in Him until the storm has passed.
Choice is an activity that begins in my heart. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” The “law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” is something God has written in my heart in the new covenant. I can choose to let Christ have His way there, or prevent Him when I choose the way of my flesh. My heart is the same fertile ground for God…. or the devil! When my heart is ruled by flesh, it is OUT OF ORDER!….and “death” comes forth. If I choose to walk in my flesh, I give the devil a permit to get a foothold in my life and the consequences of my choice will surely follow. If I learn to recognise the tremor and repent, I do not have to have a storm. But if I plow through the traffic lights at red, chaos will be the end result. Learn to sit still and listen to the Holy Spirit, our earthly Guide for our divine destiny.
He who learns to sit still moves quickest when THE SPIRIT prompts.
When I make a choice, God fixes it and seals it. I cannot trust in my choice, but I can trust in God who fixes it. My Heavenly Father is not a hard taskmaster. He loves me, unconditionally, beyond any words. He desires my highest good. He longs for intimate fellowship with me in all I do, for all my days. The Divine Potter is shaping the vessel He loves so much, for His divine purposes and for His glory.
“Lie still in the hands of the Potter,
Lie low ‘neath His wonderful touch,
For the vessel He’s molding and making
Is the vessel He loveth so much.
Stay still, stay still,
God is silently planning for thee,
Stay still, stay still,
He plans for eternity.”