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Proverbs 3:6 - In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your
paths straight.
Psalm 23:3 - He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Does God have a plan for my life and can I know it? So much has been written and
discussed on this subject that it almost seems a waste of time to try to say anything
more. But at the risk of sounding repetitious, let's broach the subject one more time.
Proverbs 3:56 is probably the most frequently quoted Scripture
concerning God's guidance. The promise that a sovereign God will make our paths straight
certainly seems to suggest that God does have planned paths for us to follow. But is it
possible that only general godly guidelines, and not specific guidance for the individual,
is meant by this verse? Is the promise of "straight paths" more than just the
thought of the Lord removing obstacles to the walk of faith? The idea that "make your
paths straight" means only general guidelines and merely involves the removal of some
obstacles from life's pathway seems to fall short of the full logical implications of this
text in the light of the rest of Scripture. Isn't it true that an all-knowing and
all-powerful God could not only remove obstacles in the Christian life, but also
"make our paths straight" by directing us around certain obstacles? Couldn't an
all-caring sovereign God not only generally encourage all of us along godly paths
but also specifically guide me along what He alone knows is the best
of a number of possible straight paths?
A similar promise comes to us from Psalm 23:3, where we are told that
"He guides me in paths of righteousness." Is this verse speaking about guidance
along specific paths for my life, or only about general moral guidelines? The overall
context of Psalm 23 would certainly indicate that the promise involves more than just some
general guidelines. A shepherd does not merely set the sheep off in a general direction.
He goes ahead of them and guides them along specific paths that he has chosen.
Furthermore, David, the author of this psalm, personalizes his relationship with the
Shepherd. Even though shepherds, both then and now, usually lead a whole flock together,
David states that "He leads me in paths of righteousness." Under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David went beyond the basic model of a shepherd and his
flock to emphasize God's guidance for the individual. It reminds us of what the Lord Jesus
said about His care for each individual sheep: "The good Shepherd calls His own sheep
by name and leads them out" (John 10:3).
Of course, most of the "paths of righteousness" which
God has chosen for us are clearly marked out in God's Word, and are the same for all
sheep. No path of righteousness, for example, will ever pass through the field of adultery
or fornication. No path of righteousness will ever travel over the ground of gluttony or
slander or cheating. These road signs are unmistakable in Scripture. Any "sheep"
can read them! But what about specific questions that apply only to me and not to the rest
of the sheep-like decisions about college or career or marriage? Can these areas be
included in God's plan for my life? Why not?
Let's consider the matter of college selection. While any number of
colleges, Christian or secular, might "do the job" for you as far as education
goes, not every college would be the place where you would be most challenged and
strengthened in your Christian faith. But the God who has promised to "guide
us with His eye" (Psalm 32:8) knows which college has the environment and roommate
and Christian fellowship group that would be best for you--for the greatest strengthening
of your faith, and the best opportunities for service using your
natural talents and spiritual gifts. Would your heavenly Father, whose counseling eye is
always upon you, and who knows all these details, let you choose just any college? Would
He not lead you to choose the particular college which would result in the very best path
of righteousness for you?
The same is true for careers. While several vocations might serve to
make you happy and successful and fulfilled, isn't it logical to assume that our
all-knowing God has determined the particular niche which is best for you? The God who
"works all things after the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11) can certainly
guide you along a particular path of righteousness to the job which is ideal for
your present and future spiritual condition and growth and usefulness in His service. The
God who knows all about your abilities and potentials and shortcomings and limitations
also sovereignly controls all the events and circumstances of history! The
particular jobs and locations which are best for you have all been worked out ahead of
time and will be there right on schedule.
What about marriage? While it is true that any number of potential
Christian spouses who meet the biblical qualifications of a wife or husband for you are
out there, not every one of these candidates is the best Christian life-partner for
you. Does God know which person will best complement you? Of course He does! He not only
knows whether or not you should be married, but He knows who is the best for you
and when is the best time for you to be married. Certainly the God who told His Old
Testament people in Jeremiah 29:11 that He had "good plans" for them has good
plans for your life too. The good plans for Israel were more than just general godly
goals. God already knew all the exact details of His plan for Judah's return from
captivity (the context of Jeremiah 29). Enough details are available in the prophecies to prove
that God hadn't just come up with a "general set of good plans" for Israel's
path of righteousness. God always knows all the details. How can anyone
possibly say that a sovereign God who knows and controls all details does not have a
detailed good plan for my life?
Ah, but what about finding out those details? When decisions need to be
made, how does a Christian go about finding and following the particular path of
righteousness God desires? Here is where many Christians get mixed up. Some Christians
assume that if God has a detailed plan for their lives, then He will reveal it to them
like a road map, highlighted with all the right roads to take and turns to make. Other
Christians assume that because God doesn't give out highlighted road maps then He must not
have a special plan for their lives, and only gives general guidelines to follow. Neither
of these assumptions is entirely correct. The truth is that God does have a
detailed plan for our lives but He does not reveal it to us as a highlighted road
map. In fact, He may not reveal much (or any!) of it ahead of schedule. Our responsibility
is to obey God's commands and use the means for making decisions that God has shown us in
Scripture. Then we can rest assured that what unfolds for us is God's particular
plan for our lives. In addition, we can be sure that if the paths of righteousness which
the Lord has chosen for us require special information or demand unusual decisions, He
will make it clear to us ahead of time. Plenty of biblical characters received God's
guidance in unusual ways, and God can guide us by special communication and
circumstances if He so chooses. (For examples, read about Gideon in Judges 7:48 or about
Philip in Acts 8:2540.) But remember that, for the most part, even the biblical heroes
made their decisions each day using the same normal means that God has given to us.
The normal means of divine guidance could be called "the way of
wisdom." The way of wisdom is simply living life with its many decisions in
accordance with God's written Word, the Bible, and our God-given and biblically instructed
common sense. In the areas where God has revealed His will for us, we walk in obedience to
His laws. In the areas where God has not specifically made His will known, but has left us
free to decide, we use the common sense that God has given us to make our decisions. In
using our common sense we recognize that we are fallible mortals, with sinful natures,
vulnerable to the tricks of Satan and therefore liable to make mistakes--even big ones.
Thus we seek out godly counsel, and pray for insight to rightly analyze circumstances, and
endeavor to be sensitive to a Spirit-enlightened conscience when we make
decisions--especially the decisions we know are going to affect the entire course of our
lives. We also know that our common sense should be greatly influenced by our knowledge of
Scripture and therefore we continually soak ourselves in the Word of God so that every
biblical principle bearing on life's decisions will "automatically" screen the
decisions we make. As we thus "walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16), we are
following God's way of wisdom for His people. And because we know that God has sovereign
control over all the details of all events and circumstances, we can be
confident that we are following the particular paths of righteousness which
God has preplanned for our lives.
We might ask some logical questions at this point. How does my
disobedience and lack of common sense in decision-making affect God's plan for my life?
Suppose I wilfully depart from paths of righteousness to sow a few wild oats? Does God's
plan for me continually change because of my mistakes, or do I get further and further
away from His plan for my life as I do my own thing? From God's perspective, neither of
the above alternatives is correct. Since God knows everything, my mistakes never
catch Him off guard, so it can never be said that God changed His plan for my life.
Our disobedience and selfish mistakes can certainly result in God's discipline and in loss
of blessing and reward, but even these consequences could not be said to be a different
plan. It is the plan that God, who always knew everything about me, designed just
for me. Every event and circumstance that I encounter in my wayward life is part of
God's unique plan for me to guide me back to Himself.
An illustration of the fact that God guides us even when we are
disobedient or only partially committed to Him comes to us from the Old Testament. When
the Lord redeemed His people out of Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land, He led
them step by step. He did this by means of a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night--a
visible sign of His presence. (See Exodus 13:2122.) The cloud never left them. It was
with them all the time and indicated whether, and when, and where they should move. (See
Numbers 9:1523.) The cloud was there when they murmured and complained. It was there
when they bowed and partied around the golden calf. It was there when they would not
believe that God could bring them into the land He had promised them. It led them for the
40 years that they wandered in the wilderness. Numbers 33 gives us 41 stages of these
wanderings by name. God knew precisely when He was going to move the cloud and precisely
where He was going to stop the cloud. Even when the children of Israel were grumbling and
complaining and "out of the will of the Lord," God guided His wayward people
according to plan. Certainly God will not do less for His people today.
The fact that the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan is meant to be
a picture of the individual Christian's life further emphasizes this point of God's
guidance for us. God not only redeems me "out of Egypt," but He leads me
"through the wilderness." Even when I choose to leave the paths of righteousness
to "wander in the wilderness," God's plan for my life is not thwarted. Although
my sin and selfish decisions mean that there will be "holding patterns" and
"course corrections" in God's plan for my life, He never gives up on me or on
His plan! (Read Philippians 1:6.)
The bottom line of God's desire for all of us, of course, is that we
become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. (See Romans 8:2829.) All paths of
righteousness lead in that direction. You can be sure that everything in God's plan
for your life is always working together toward that glorious goal.
David R. Reid
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