fatalistic?

Originally posted on July 31, 2009 – by Andre Piet

From a visitor of this site I received the following question:

If everything proceeds according to God’s plan, also in your own life, why should we not just let everything take its course?

ANSWER:
Let us first establish from the Bible that it is true that everything (!) proceeds according to God’s plan.

the example of Pharaoh

When Pharaoh disobediently resisted the call to let the people of Israel go, he clearly went against God’s will. Nevertheless it was God Himself who, when Pharaoh threatened to succumb under the pressure of the plagues, strengthened his heart so that he continued to say ‘no’. For God’s ‘hidden agenda’ was that He wanted to demonstrate His power (Rom.9:15-18). And for that resistance was necessary. The Bible is full of examples of this. Summarized concisely:

YHWH has made EVERYTHING for its purpose,
yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Proverbs 16:4

In Romans 9:19 Paul states in the form of a rhetorical question that no one has ever resisted God’s counsel (‘will’ is a wrong translation!). Which means that with GOD nothing ever goes wrong. Everything proceeds according to His ‘script’.

fatalism?

But now the question: does the conviction that nothing ever goes wrong make one fatalistic?
The answer is: no, on the contrary! The conviction that everything has a purpose and that everything proceeds according to God’s counsel (Eph.1:11) gives a joy and peace “which transcends all understanding”! That is the opposite of ‘fatalism’ (fatal = fate).

God’s plan as a pious pretext

The danger of ‘fatalism’, however, remains a subtle trap.
Because God’s counsel encompasses everything, even the greatest evil, God’s plan can never be the guiding element in the life of a believer. Not God’s hidden intention but His revealed will gives direction to the believer. And that is all too easily forgotten. A believing man, for example, may (despite the biblical word not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever) marry an unbelieving woman with the pretext that if he does so, that too fits into God’s plan. The latter is thankfully true, but it is a fallacy to make choices beforehand on that basis. In theory one could justify any behavior with it — even a horrible murder. Afterwards, when things have already become a fact, one may say that it had to take place. But when choices still have to be made, speculating about God’s intention while His will is clear is little more than pious prattle.

it had to happen – afterwards!

A biblical example. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egypt and deceived their father, that was a great evil. When they plotted this crime, they could not possibly justify it with the argument that it had to happen. For the fact that it had to happen is knowledge and comfort afterwards (Genesis 45:7). Never beforehand.

conclusion

In short, the one who believes will, according to ability, do what GOD enables him or her to do. No less and no more. What lies beyond our ability can be entrusted with confidence to the GOD whose way is the best. The best always!

Delen: