Free will is a gift from God

I was at a funeral recently, contemplating my life and what would be said at my funeral.

Questions were racing through my head like, “Who is responsible for my life? Is m life a result of the choices I make or is it a result of the soverenty of God? Do I have the power to create a harvest by the good seeds I plant or do I just sit and watch life unfold for me because God has my life all figured out?

When God created us, did He not create us with a free will?

For Him to interfere in my life, without my permission, is that not a violation of His nature?

If I am free to make choices, either good or bad, why do I blame God when things don’t work out for me as planned?

As I search the Bible for answers I discover that there is a God of this world – Satan, who is the father of all lies. He is a devil who steals, kills and destroys. God is a good God and every good gift comes from Him.

So the next time I am experiencing sorrow and grieving, I will think twice before I say “God allowed this.” Those words to me sound like the words of a victim not an overcomer.

Does not God’s plan for my life involve Him giving me options and leaving the choices to me? Even when I make mistakes, I can trust Him to work things out for good.

He knows my heart and if I genuinely want His involvement, I need to give Him permission. We are co-labourers with Christ which means we are in this together.

I think we have gotten our job-descriptions mixed up and it’s time to start taking responsibility for our lives and the choices we make.

Even when we make mistakes, by truly repenting and learning from them, we can trust God to turn things around.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Verse 31 goes on to say, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

God won’t do the work for us, but He offers support, comfort and strength for us to do the work He has called us to do.

I no longer believe that God is the cause of sorrow, pain and grief. God can turn things around for good and opportunities can come out of deep sorrow. In this work we will experience persecution, pain and grief, but I know God is on my side.

I am confidant that as I need things, ideas or people they will turn up at exactly the right moment in time, because God is for me not against me.

Whatever I want said at my funeral, I have been given the power to create like I want because God has given me a free will.

It’s easy to blame others, even God for my shortcomings but like one pastor friend told me, “The buck stops here.” Let’s be responsible for our own lives and stop making lame excuses for why we aren’t living our lives to our full potential.

Maybe that starts by asking yourself what you want said at your funeral.