“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
(Proverbs 16:9)
As you look back over your life, with all its twists and turns and highs and lows, you can be sure of one thing: you never could have written your own story.
You are not the author of your life; God is. Every aspect of it—every location, situation, relationship, triumph, defeat, sunny day, and dark night—was written into his sovereign book before you took your first breath. Your story has been written by the wise, powerful, and gracious hand of the King of kings.
But something else is equally true. You have not been passive. You have made countless mundane and dramatic decisions along the way, each one contributing to who you are, where you are, who you are with, and what you do.
You would not be where you are today if you had made different decisions. Each choice was formative. Every decision contributed to the shape, content, and direction of your life. You were desiring, thinking, meditating, choosing, conversing, and acting all along the way. Nothing about your journey has been robotic.
Here’s the big question: if God determines everything, then do your decisions matter? How do we put these two seemingly contradictory truths together?
The Bible teaches us that our decisions are important, and it teaches us that God is sovereign. Scripture teaches us that God accomplishes his unalterable sovereign plan through the means of the valid choices and decisions of the people he has created.
It is never a question of God’s sovereignty or our responsibility. No, it is always both-and. God is completely sovereign, and we are always responsible for how we act and what we chose.
You can rest in God’s wise and gracious plan. Nothing can stop what he has already written in his holy book. But resting doesn’t mean living passively or being careless with your choices and decisions.
God designed you to make plans. He calls you to have righteous desires and to make wise choices. He calls you to look to Scripture as your authority for what is right and true. As you do so, you can rest assured that God’s wise and holy will for you will be done.
God rules and you choose—rest and responsibility. This is the maze of faith.
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Life
this side of forever is a
a maze,
each day a walk
down a momentary
corridor,
never sure how
long or short.
Sometimes unexpected
turns,
sometimes dead ends
frustrate.
Some corridors shine,
providing a sense of
order and place.
Some grow dark,
giving anxiety room to
haunt.
Some corridors
an arduous climb.
Some a slide into
the valley.
We maze walkers
live our lives in
wonder,
amazement,
concern,
dismay,
and joy,
hope renewed,
hope dashed,
moments of understanding
followed by
moments of confusion.
Your maze isn’t fate’s
puzzle.
Your maze has been
carefully designed and is
providentially controlled by
the Maker.
He guides you through what
he designed for you,
not just to get you to
the end,
but to transform you
along the way,
Each maze being the
workroom
where journeyers
are rescued and rebuilt.
He doesn’t just walk before
You;
he has his hands on you,
molding you as you
journey
into something way better
than you could ever be
without him.
His presence,
his love,
his grace,
inhabits every corridor.
His promises propel you on
your journey,
giving you reason to
move forward,
even though the maze has
exposed
how little you know
and how weak you are.
You learn as you
journey
that hope is not found
in figuring out the
pathway,
but in trusting that
the Maker
is holy and good,
knows all the things
you don’t know,
and has your best in
mind.
If you pause to look
back,
you will realize
you are not the
person you were when you
began.
Your joy in the middle
of what you don’t know and can’t
see
is being known, while the
Maker
makes himself known.
He is the Light that
illumines
your journey.
Some day, a bit
scarred and weary, your
maze journey will be
completed.
At the end of the final
Corridor,
your tired eyes
will see the shining
Son,
the sound of
angels rejoicing will fill
your ears,
and the company of the
Redeemed,
around the throne of the
Savior,
will welcome you to the
eternal city,
the place prepared for you.
And with tears of gratitude
you will smile and say,
“I’m home!”
---
A Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to understand that you are in complete control of all things, including every detail of my life, and that simultaneously, my decisions are important. Help me to rest in you and your divine sovereignty, but may I never live passively or carelessly with my choices and decisions each day. I love you, Lord God. I trust you with every aspect of my life. And I need you to help me rest and be responsible in the moment-by-moment maze of faith. In your precious name I pray. Amen.
God bless,
Paul Tripp
Discussion Prompt for Children
• Why is it important to know and believe that God is in control of all things (including you and me) all the time? How does God’s control over everything make you think about your own actions each day?
• Why do you think our choices matter even though God is in control of everything?
Reflection Questions
1. Why is the sovereignty of God completely relevant to every aspect of your life? How does knowing that he’s in control of everything make you feel? How does it affect the way you treat people? How does it impact your responses to life’s circumstances?
2.Why are the choices and decisions you make all day, every day still valid? When you ponder the sovereignty of God, does it ever tempt you to live passively or carelessly? Why or why not?
3. When it comes to God’s sovereignty and our responsibility, why is it always a both-and instead of an either-or? How have you struggled with this in the past? Why are we called to both rest and take action as followers of Christ?
4. How has the maze of faith confused you previously? How is it currently confusing you? How has the maze of faith flooded your life with joy? What do you think it will look like for you going forward? In what ways do you have hope as you look to the future maze of faith?
