Make Wise Choices

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered.
–Proverbs 28:26

The fact that God has a detailed plan for your life–a plan that includes even your failures–does not mean that you are not responsible for your actions. How can we possibly reconcile God’s absolute power over our choices with our responsibility for those choices?

Every part of your life is a part of God’s plan. Let’s consider that for a moment. Your external circumstances are a part of God’s plan.

For example, think about the decisions of government leaders. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon wrote, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes” (21:1). The ruler’s heart is in God’s hand. It does not matter whether that ruler is a Christian or a non-Christian. God is bigger than every political leader, and He can work His purpose through that leader.

God’s power does not exempt you from responsibility. We are ultimately responsible for the actions and the choices we make.

Scripture says we must make wise choices. Dr. J. Vernon McGee used to tell the story about a young man who came up to him and said, “Dr. McGee, I so believe in the sovereignty of God that if I stood in the middle of a busy highway and my time had not yet come, I believe God would miraculously deliver me.” Dr. McGee replied, “Son, if you stand in the middle of a busy highway, your time will have come.”

God does not call us to do foolish things. We must make wise choices. Solomon went on to say, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered” (28:26). We are ultimately responsible for our choices and may have to experience the consequences of wrong choices–such as divorces, job terminations, bankruptcies, or bad health reports–even though these things were included in God’s master plan for our lives.

You may be thinking, “How can God be in charge of everything, yet I make choices for which I am responsible?” How can we reconcile God’s sovereignty with our responsibility? The honest answer is, I don’t know–and neither does anyone else. Ultimately there is no way for finite minds like ours to understand how God can be sovereign and we can be responsible. This is an important truth that we have to leave in the mind of God.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Deciding To Burn The Ships” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2017.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.