Does God Choose Our Paths?
Proverbs 16:9; 1 Samuel 12:19-25
Jim Davis
As I look at life through hindsight I am
amazed at how it seems as though God has led me
to take the paths I have taken in life.
It is as if I want to believe God was there
directing me to take certain paths. I want to
believe God put me on those paths because of
what I learned from those journeys. Yet, it is
hard for me to believe God would dare direct me
down some of the roads I have taken. There is a
reason I want to believe God directed me to take
certain paths. It is because I wouldn't take
anything for the lessons I learned by taking
those paths that I would never choose to take
again. Some of those roads led to failure, but
the lessons were invaluable. In the aftermath
through reflection, it seems as though God was
purposely directing me to take the path to
failure.
I was talking to the ITT-Technical manager where
I work. He said it seemed as though God had
mysteriously led him down the path he had taken
to be an ITT-Technician. He was a diesel
mechanic and a mechanic for Cadillac for years.
He couldn't believe he dared drop everything in
life and retrain for a new profession. He
believes a divine hand was leading him.
As I think about all of this, I wonder was
it God directing his choices. Was it God
directing my choices? Is it that God chooses our
paths in life? Or is it—that I chose the roads I
took and God was committed to directing my steps
down those paths as he walked with me down each
road. Is it that I choose the path for good or
bad and God blesses my steps to his glory?
The paths Abraham took in life were his
choice. It was his choice to follow God.
It was his choice to follow God’s call to leave
his family. It was his choice to go to Egypt in
times of famine. It was his choice to lie about
Sarah being his sister. It was his choice to
have a child by his handmaid when he was
exhausted waiting on the promise of God. It was
God's commitment to never forsake Abraham
regardless of which path he took that is mind
boggling. It doesn’t mean that God always
approved or disapproved. God chose to journey
every road with him. It is amazing how he came
out of Egypt after lying to Abimelech about
Sarah being his sister. He left Egypt as
Abimelech heaped blessings upon him.
Genesis 20:14-18
14 Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and
male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham,
and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And
Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live
wherever you like."
16 To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a
thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the
offense against you before all who are with you;
you are completely vindicated."
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed
Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they
could have children again, 18 for the LORD had
closed up every womb in Abimelech's household
because of Abraham's wife Sarah. NIV
God directed Abraham’s steps out of a mess
Abraham made. It was no problem for God.
He remained faithful to Abraham in spite of his
choices. Through it all God’s glory was revealed
to Abimelech. God used the opportunity to reveal
himself to Abimelech. Abimelech blessings upon
Abraham were not an approval of what Abraham
actions, but out of fear of Abraham’s God.
It was Jacob's choice to cheat Esau out of
his birthright. It was his choice to
circumvent his father's intentional blessings
for Esau by pretending to be Esau. Yet, God was
committed to Jacob every step of the way. God's
blessings to Jacob, more often than not, came in
the form of God's discipline. It seems as though
God put him on the path. Yet, Jacob chose his
own paths. God simply chose Jacob as the
recipient of his blessings. God was committed to
walking with Jacob regardless. It is no accident
that Jacob wrestled with an angel all night
until his leg was thrown out of joint. It was
then the angel proclaimed to Jacob "You have
wrestled with God and man and have prevailed."
It wasn't that Jacob took all the right roads or
made all the right moves. It wasn’t that God
directs him to take every road he travels. The
victory came as Jacob realized God's presence on
every self-chosen road he took.
We should agonize over right and wrong
choices in life. Choices are important.
But we need to realize before we make our choice
that God will be with us on whatever road we
choose. This doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter
which road we take. It simply means God will
continue to work in us and through us to bring
his purpose to fruition in our lives. We may
choose a road that requires God’s discipline as
Jonah did, but he will not forsake us. If this
is difficult for you to grasp, read the stories
of Naomi’s bitter experiences. Just look at
Samson’s foolish ways. Think about the angry
Jonah as God prepared a fish to swallow him.
Proverbs 16:9
9 In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps. NIV
I Will Never Leave You
Nor Forsake You
Jacob’s decisions led him to end up with a stone
for a pillow, but God appeared to him in a
vision reassuring him of his presence.
Genesis 28:10-15
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped
for the night because the sun had set. Taking
one of the stones there, he put it under his
head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in
which he saw a stairway resting on the earth,
with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels
of God were ascending and descending on it. 13
There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I
am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and
the God of Isaac. I will give you and your
descendants the land on which you are lying. 14
Your descendants will be like the dust of the
earth, and you will spread out to the west and
to the east, to the north and to the south. All
peoples on earth will be blessed through you and
your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch
over you wherever you go, and I will bring you
back to this land. I will not leave you until I
have done what I have promised you." NIV
You have got to appreciate this picture. Jacob
seeks to cheat Esau out of his inheritance.
Jacob is the one left without any inheritance.
He is forced to flee from Esau to save his own
life. He has nothing but a stone for his
pillow—talking about making your bed hard to
sleep in—Jacob pays for his choices. It is at
this very moment God appears to him in a dream
saying, "I am with you and will watch over you
wherever you go . . . I will not leave you…"
God didn’t choose the path Jacob took.
God wasn’t the one who brought Jacob to a place
where he had a stone for a pillow. But God was
there reassuring him of his promises in spite of
the road he had chosen. God had promised the
blessings on Abraham’s descendants would come
through Jacob. Jacob’s choices did not make God
renege on his promise.
Hebrews 13:5-8
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have, because God
has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
6 So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of
God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of
life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever. NIV
Jacob was so determined to make God's promise to
him come true through his own choices that he
lost sight of God. This is what God told Rebekah
when Jacob and Esau were born.
Gen 25:23
23 The LORD said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be
separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger." NIV
It seems as though Jacob and his mother spent
their lives trying to make sure God's promises
would come true on their terms. They made a mess
of everything.
It is absolutely amazing how God’s glory
is revealed through men and women. I am
not sure that Samson was all that smart. He made
one bad choice after another. God wasn’t
directing him to take the paths he took. Yet,
God never forsook him. God reveals his glory
through Samson in spite of of his dumb choices.
We see God’s power revealed through his life.
Solomon is the opposite of Samson. God gave him
wisdom, but it didn’t insure that he would make
all the right choices. Solomon went down path
after path that led him to cry out all is
vanity. Yet, God revealed his glory to us
through both men.
Both Samson and Solomon chose their paths in
life. Both uniquely experienced the discipline
of God.
It is comforting to know when we take a
road outside the will of God in rebellion or
ignorance God does not forsake us. He
didn’t forsake Jonah; he did prepare a whale to
swallow him. He didn’t forsake Manasseh when he
filled Jerusalem with blood; he did direct his
steps to prison. It brought him to repentance.
Naomi believed God made her life bitter, but she
was blessed by God in the end as God’s glory was
revealed through her life.
Proverbs 20:24
24 A man's steps are directed by the LORD.
How then can anyone understand his own way? NIV
There is a beautiful story in First Samuel
where Samuel reminds God’s people of God’s
continued deliverance despite their rebellion
through the years. Yet, as Israel’s
enemy moves against them they ask God to appoint
a king to rule over them for their protection.
Samuel points out their sin. Asking for a king
was paramount to disavowing God’s protection. He
confronted them with examples of how God had
personally protected his people throughout their
history.
1 Samuel 12:6-11
6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the
LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought
your forefathers up out of Egypt. 7 Now then,
stand here, because I am going to confront you
with evidence before the LORD as to all the
righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and
your fathers.
8 "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the
LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and
Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt
and settled them in this place.
9 "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he
sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander
of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the
Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought
against them. 10 They cried out to the LORD and
said, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD
and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now
deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we
will serve you.' 11 Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal,
Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you
from the hands of your enemies on every side, so
that you lived securely. NIV
Samuel seeks to remind the people how
trustworthy God has been to Israel. God
was their king; he was their protection.
Desiring a king for protection was paramount to
denying God’s protection.
1 Samuel 12:12-13
"But when you saw that Nahash king of the
Ammonites was moving against you, you said to
me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'-even
though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now
here is the king you have chosen, the one you
asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over
you. NIV
God allowed them to follow their self-chosen
path to monarchy, but he did not abandon them in
their rejection of him. Samuel confronted the
Israelites with their sin.
1 Samuel 12:19-25
19 The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the
LORD your God for your servants so that we will
not die, for we have added to all our other sins
the evil of asking for a king."
20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have
done all this evil; yet do not turn away from
the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your
heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols.
They can do you no good, nor can they rescue
you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake
of his great name the LORD will not reject his
people, because the LORD was pleased to make you
his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I
should sin against the LORD by failing to pray
for you. And I will teach you the way that is
good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the LORD
and serve him faithfully with all your heart;
consider what great things he has done for you.
25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you
and your king will be swept away." NIV
What do you do when you realize you have
taken a road that displeases God and there is no
turning back? Do you give up on God
because you are now afraid that God has rejected
you for taking the wrong road? Samuel says, NO!
Israel realizes she has taken a road displeasing
to God, but Samuel reminds them not to give up
on God. He tells them, ". . . do not turn away
from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your
heart." Why? Because God has not deserted them
even though there is no way to turn back the
clock. God is committed to walking with them
down the path they have chosen.
Samuel minced no words about their sin.
Yet, there was hope because God had not
forsaken them as his own. He would be with them
in their self-chosen struggles, but they must
serve the Lord. However, if they turned to the
idols of the surrounding nations they needed to
realize they could offer no protection or
deliverance.
It is a picture of God’s grace in action
we often miss. We think of grace as
forgiveness only. We may never recognize God’s
desire to help us in every self-chosen disaster.
When we suddenly do see our sin, God simply
tells us you have done all this evil; yet do not
turn away from me—trust me—failing to do so will
only bring disaster—I am your only hope for
salvation—I can salvage your life in the midst
of your troubles.
Conclusion:
You may be at a point in your life where
you recognize the sinfulness of your self-chosen
ways. But never allow your personal sins
to deter you from following God. God simply says
trust me to salvage your life. I didn’t choose
your path. I gave you the freedom to choose your
path. I am not responsible for your sinful
choices. But I have not forsaken you. Allow me
to reveal my glory to the world through your
life.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. NIV
Jeremiah 10:23
23 I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his
own;
it is not for man to direct his steps. NIV
God may not have chosen the path you have taken,
but he is more than capable of directing your
steps on whatever path you have chosen.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the
message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be
honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray
that we may be delivered from wicked and evil
men, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord
is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect
you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in
the Lord that you are doing and will continue to
do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct
your hearts into God's love and Christ's
perseverance. NIV
The blessing of perseverance comes when we reach
that point where we can look back and begin to
realize that God has been directing our steps on
every path to his glory. It is then that our
hearts can be directed into God’s love.
