Everything happens for a reason. Really?

In seeking to hold in tension and understand that God is Sovereign (all things are under His control), and that we have free will, we can either fail to take responsibility for our actions, or in effect deny that He is in over all control. My own thought on this is, that He works His sovereign will in spite of our disobedience, He dos not cause it! But does He not know that we are going to fall before do? Well yes, but does this mean that He caused it - my sin happened for a reason? When my children were younger I got to know their weakness. Certain disobedience would happen over and over, and I could see the pattern! But knowing that they would do it cause their disobedience? I was desperate at times to prevent it. Similarly with God, does His allowing something mean that He causes it? Surely not!

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery and God used this in two ways. He used it to polish Joseph’s character (from boastfulness for example to humility). At the end of the story Joseph tells his brothers “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, ... to save many people alive (Genesis 50:20). Were Joseph’s brothers puppets doing God’s will? My thinking is that if they had not sold Joseph into slavery, then God would have used some other way to work His sovereign plan to bless all the families of the earth (Geneses 22:18). It is clear that God is delighted when we are truly sorry for our sin (i.e. Luke 15:7). For example when Judah showed his repentance by being wiling to stay in jail in place of Benjamin (Genesis 44:33). But does this mean that God was delighted with their sin? Well no, because “love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6), and God is love (1 John 4:8). God is not the author of evil. The Westminster Confession says that God “neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.”

It’s not that difficult really, God good, Devil bad! So did the Devil made me do it? Well no, because we have free will, we have choice and we will be held accountable for them (2 Corinthians 5:19). This too is disputed in our culture. I hear in all sorts of contexts “This is the way God made me.” It seems we are ever more than willing to blame God, the Devil, anyone but ourselves. Having said this, it needs to be admitted that we do not feel free at times to choose. But this is because “He who sins, is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). The point is that when we make the same poor choices over and over, the behaviour develops into an often deeply ingrained habit, from which it becomes very difficult to escape. This is not to say that some are not more susceptible than others. The default for children of alcoholics , for example is to become alcoholics. But this susceptibility does not take away our choice, our free will. I am not saying we do not need a deliverer!

Father, nobody is saying that it does not feel at times as if it is impossible to escape from this or that ingrained addiction. But the truth of the matter is, that we Christians are destined to be “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). And nobody is saying that this is easy Lord, but it often starts with coming out of denial, and admitting that without You we are powerless over our difficulties. We need Your help Lord, I do. We need Your principles and Your promises and Your power. In fact we need a life giving encounter with You in Jesus Name Amen