All His Ways

Before I became a Christian, I had heard the mistaken idea that with God there is no free will and this is an idea that still floats around. Some will use this idea to say that it doesn’t matter what they do, whether that is sharing the gospel with someone or continuing in their sin, because God is in control of it all. They will make the argument that they do not need to share the gospel because if God wills for them to be saved then they will be, or they do not need to turn from their sin because God has placed that desire in them. However, this poor idea could not be farther from the truth. While this post is not going to go into how God operates outside of time, I do want to discuss one simple verse that points to the fact that mankind has free will to make their choices.

“21 For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord, And He observes all his paths.”

Proverbs 5:21

Like I said, this was going to be a simple verse; but like so much of God’s word, there is so much to it when you take the time to really consider it.

First, we see that the ways of everyone are before the eyes of God. That means every man, woman, and child are within His sight. No one is to far, to lost, or to remote that He cannot see them. How amazing is it that there is no place that He cannot reach! Second, we see that God is watching over all the paths of everyone. The word “paths” shows that each individual has multiple paths that they can take. This again shows that God operates outside of time, He is able to see all the possible paths a person can take. These paths vary; some lead to God, some lead away from Him, some lead to sin, some lead to edifying other believers, etc. All these paths are before each individual person and only God can see the outcome of each choice when one chooses a path, but it is a choice that each individual has. We are free to make our decisions here, but that does not mean that we are free from the consequences. We have a God who cares enough to watch over all our paths, who brings us to Him when we fall, who rejoices when we follow Him, and who offers words of wisdom (Scripture) on where our next path should go. How amazing is it that God not only brought about salvation, but cares for us each individual to allow us to have free will!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex