that seems to contradict half the other sermons. i mean people that marry the wrong person ..is that them not following his plan so they mess up? and when you don't get something you want, is it always god doing something behind the scenes ?? it just seems that the way people talk about "everything happening for a reason" undos a lot of their same beliefs. i mean for a lot of things to happen in people's lives...a lot of mistakes have to happen. sometimes. i'm not against god being in control..don't get me wrong...but iit's just confusing. what do you think?
2006-10-22 07:02:13 · 17 answers · asked by klove28 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If God is shuffling around the circumstances in our lives and screwing with what would've happened had he not screwed with it, he's messing with free will. If God limits your options and sets up circumstances to point you in the direction of just one, he's basically entrapping you... and that's against the law. Maybe not HIS law, but us lowly men have designated it illegal...
2006-10-22 07:08:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
This is really a helpful philosophical state of mind saying - don't worry if things go wrong - they will work themselves out in the end. This helps avoids anger or depression when things dont work out. In Graham Greene's Brighton Rock the priest says that no-one understand the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.
I think only someone completely heartless would say God had a plan to send Aids to decimate the population of Africa. Its probably best at the end of the day to go with your instinct on this, that life is not such a rosy sheltered existence as others would have you think. And that the sermon is trying to teach you to think of things from a positive frame of mind helping you cope better with tragedy rather than giving a fully self-consistent framework of beliefs.
I was reading one of your other questions, and recommend you reading this novel: "Oranges are not the only fruit"
2006-10-22 07:22:57 · answer #2 · answered by Chris C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My whole life I was raised to believe in God. I truly believe that God has a master plan, and that if you live your life in a way that's pleasing to him, you will find the purpose that God has for you. We're all human, and of course we all make mistakes. It's totally natural for you to question your faith. It's necessary to becoming a born again Christian and discovering for yourself what you really believe. But I don't think it's a question of conciously following the directions as they're written for you because no one really knows what those directions are. The only thing you're responsible for doing is putting your trust in God, doing what's right, and letting him lead you. If you don't put your trust in God, and follow him, how can he safely take you to where you're supposed to be? I think if you truly are a righteous person at heart, and you truly ask for God's guidance, than yes everything happens for a reason. But my mother always told me "God can't protect you if you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing." In other words, if you think you can just make it on your own without God's help, then sure, bad things may happen that God didn't plan. I'm sure there have been people in the past who didn't reach their final destination that God had in place for them. But it was their choice. He'll show you the way if you follow. But that's just it, you have to follow.
2006-10-22 07:20:19 · answer #3 · answered by Lauralye D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is an interesting question that I don't think any human will ever fully comprehend. It was explained to me this way one time: A coin has two sides, but you can only see one side of it at a time. Likewise, humans have free will, yet God is still in complete control. Both things happen at the same time, but we can either see one side or the other. Our minds aren't capable of comprehending both at the same time, yet we know and believe that both are true because of what the bible tells us. So, we just need to accept that, and try to live our lives best buy making the "best" human choices, and make sure God is the focus of our life. That way, he will guide us to make the right decisions, but really it will be you making them....or it is God making them. Depends what side of the coin you look at! :)
2006-10-22 07:13:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you are right. God's plan is confusing. Some people marry others that don't make life easy for them. The world has evil in it, as well as good. The main to remember is for you to lead the best life you can with the circumstances you have. Believe that God is on your side. Do good things. Don't expect rewards. Don't be judgmental of others. Forgive others. Let God take care of the bigger picture in life.
2006-10-22 07:10:36 · answer #5 · answered by bonacker 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God wants us to follow him and his guidance..If we decide to go against the Word, (bible) then we suffer from wrong decisions. He will still forgive us and work with us to make the marriage work, but it was not the marriage that he would have had us in.
Things we want are not always good for us, and we need to let him give us what he wants.. What he wants always works out, what we want, well you never know..
It is only confusing if you don't know the Word and don't pray and submit to the will of God.
Children obey your parents for example: God will work through your parents and you need to recognise that your parents are not perfect, but he will work through them. If you don't respect that then you will be going against God.. If your parents are wrong then you must pray and let God intervene.
God is not like McDonalds and you get service in a minute, he likes us to learn patience and wait on him. After all we have all of eternity..
2006-10-22 07:19:23 · answer #6 · answered by † PRAY † 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that people sometimes look for the easy patterns where they may not be any. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people?
In some of these situations, chalking it up to some kind of predestination opens yourself up to useless self-hatred: "I deserved for [bad thing] to happen. I must be a really horrible person."
Well, bad things do happen to good people. These can be crippling, or they can be obstacles to be overcome.
Always ask yourself questions; never settle for the simplistic patterns. We may never know all the answers, but maybe we can push on despite adversity.
2006-10-22 07:07:58 · answer #7 · answered by kent_shakespear 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God have the full control of our life but he doesn't use it in order to give us our freedom. so his plan only in the things we have no control (a train delay, sickness,...) in order to update our own plan.
God is not known as an evil all evil made by men to harm others. God only enter to stop this evil or to reduce its effects
2006-10-22 07:09:04 · answer #8 · answered by George Daoud 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to HIS purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters."
God works in "everything" - not just isolated incidents for our good. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. Not that God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill HIS purpose. Note also that this promise is not for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by him, that is, those whom the Holy Spirit convinces to receive Christ. Such people have a new perspective, a new mind-set. They trust in God, not in worldly treasures: their security is in heaven, not on earth. Their faith in God does not waver in pain and persecution because they know God is with them. God"s ultimate goal for us is to make us like Christ. As we become more and more like him, we discover our true selves, the persons we were created to be.
2006-10-22 07:24:54 · answer #9 · answered by Freedom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a pastor once who wanted a little red sports car. he prayed and prayed and finally he got his little red sports car. that car almost got him killed, his sermon was on "be careful what you pray for".
God has a habit of turning bad thing for your good. but we cannot expect him to correct all of our bad decisions.
before you marry the wrong person, you need to pray about it and ask for gods will.
a friend of mine wanted a husband so bad and for so long, that when she went home to Texas she met and married her high school sweetheart.
after a few months in California he went back to Texas and left her with his bills.
it was only after that she realized that she should have prayed about it first.
2006-10-22 07:17:18 · answer #10 · answered by Hannah's Grandpa 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋