I am teaching an Adult Bible Fellowship Class on Sunday morning right now on God’s Decree. Basically, God’s plan (spiritual blueprint) for how everything that is created is part of a plan, not only in terms of God bringing it into existence, but how time unfolds and the pathway that the events in history (and our lives) unfold. That might seem a little odd or even offensive to some. Statements like this sound like someone talking about “fate” (everything is predetermined) which is for another conversation… but the idea is that there is some plan that is shaping the events of our lives. We don’t like that thought because it seems to take away our freedom to choose and we don’t like the idea of not being in control of our own life.

Let me share a verse or two that helps us understand why we are talking like this in the first place. Let’s look at the statements of Isaiah 46:9-10:

“Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no one like Me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, “My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all My good pleasure. Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. “

God has a spiritual blueprint that encompasses all things; it includes special things and it includes spiritual things. God’s spiritual blueprint, His Decree, is His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His own will, where according to his own pleasure, and for His own glory, he has planned (foreordained) everything to come to pass in the way He has planned it.

Humm? That is going to be disturbing to some for sure. But for Christians we need to realize that we use lots of terms to describe God. We say He is sovereign (He is in control of everything and has the power to rule over everything); we say His is omnipotent (all powerful); we say that God is omniscient ( He knows everything) – but the question is that we often deny those very characteristics which we say we believe describe the character of God. We do this by not living with real confidence that these things are true. If we were really convinced that God is in control and rules over everything would it not mitigate or eliminate our anxiety of life? To be honest, we get worried or anxious when we lose control… not if we are convinced God is in complete control.

Something to consider about who God is and how we see Him…

Pastor Brad