The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Titus 3:12,
"As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there."
In some personal notes to Titus, as Paul brings his letter to a close, he mentions something that catches my eye. It is a comment that is at odds with the perception of many folks within the church today. That comment is his cause for wintering in Nicopolis: not because God told him to, but that Paul himself decided to. I'm certain Paul made his choice based on factors that had to do with what would be best for pursuing his ministry to the Gentiles together with the specific circumstances he found himself in. I'm certain if God told Paul to winter in Nicopolis he would have done so, but he would have also said so.
I have run into many in the church that have an odd notion that God wants to make all our choices for us, that our every move must be directed by God. "God has told me to go to this school", or "God has told me this is where I need to live...", etc. followed with some kind of comment that they are waiting to see from God what their next move is.
To their credit, I'm certain the underlying motivation for many is a pursuit of being "directed by God" - insuring they are smack in the middle of his will. Many, sad to say, seem to be playing the "holier than thou" card in an effort to show all around just how tight they are with God. Worse yet are those who hide behind "being directed by God" as an excuse for irresponsibility. I've had more than one man's wife tell me that God called her to another state to do so-and-so as she leaves her husband behind. I've seen many examples of folks making irresponsible financial decisions, claiming God has "told them" to buy this or that, leaving everyone else around them without ground to question. I'll bet you have seen this yourself.
For whatever reason, there are those who feel God should make all our decisions: which house or car to buy, what career and school to go to, who to date and marry, etc. Where do folks get the notion that God has taken upon himself such a thing? He has given us a mind and he has given us a free will. While there certainly are many occasions I read of in my Bible where God tells certain individuals to do certain things, as, say, Nathan being sent by God to confront David in his sin with Bathsheba, the Scriptures never present God has making our decisions for us as a general rule. On the contrary, what I read of is God telling us what pleases him, usually in a general sense, and then asks us to make our own decisions.
An example of this is where Paul discusses whether one should marry or not in 1 Corinthians 7:36-37, "If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing." Paul says he should do as "he wants".
"As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there."
In some personal notes to Titus, as Paul brings his letter to a close, he mentions something that catches my eye. It is a comment that is at odds with the perception of many folks within the church today. That comment is his cause for wintering in Nicopolis: not because God told him to, but that Paul himself decided to. I'm certain Paul made his choice based on factors that had to do with what would be best for pursuing his ministry to the Gentiles together with the specific circumstances he found himself in. I'm certain if God told Paul to winter in Nicopolis he would have done so, but he would have also said so.
I have run into many in the church that have an odd notion that God wants to make all our choices for us, that our every move must be directed by God. "God has told me to go to this school", or "God has told me this is where I need to live...", etc. followed with some kind of comment that they are waiting to see from God what their next move is.
To their credit, I'm certain the underlying motivation for many is a pursuit of being "directed by God" - insuring they are smack in the middle of his will. Many, sad to say, seem to be playing the "holier than thou" card in an effort to show all around just how tight they are with God. Worse yet are those who hide behind "being directed by God" as an excuse for irresponsibility. I've had more than one man's wife tell me that God called her to another state to do so-and-so as she leaves her husband behind. I've seen many examples of folks making irresponsible financial decisions, claiming God has "told them" to buy this or that, leaving everyone else around them without ground to question. I'll bet you have seen this yourself.
For whatever reason, there are those who feel God should make all our decisions: which house or car to buy, what career and school to go to, who to date and marry, etc. Where do folks get the notion that God has taken upon himself such a thing? He has given us a mind and he has given us a free will. While there certainly are many occasions I read of in my Bible where God tells certain individuals to do certain things, as, say, Nathan being sent by God to confront David in his sin with Bathsheba, the Scriptures never present God has making our decisions for us as a general rule. On the contrary, what I read of is God telling us what pleases him, usually in a general sense, and then asks us to make our own decisions.
An example of this is where Paul discusses whether one should marry or not in 1 Corinthians 7:36-37, "If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing." Paul says he should do as "he wants".
The question is not whether we should be making our own decisions but that those decisions we make are wise and consistent with the Scriptures, what God has indeed told us.
I'm not sure life would be the same if all of our choices were prescripted by God. What kind of a life would that look like?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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