Do you believe in predestination or determinism? That we are predestined for specific things or purposes. That is, God has already chosen your path, but you still have the option to follow it. The theory suggest that we all have free will to choose our paths. But, in the end, God's will prevail. Even if you stray from the path He has designed for you, He will still guide you back.
It's a concept beyond my understanding. How can you choose what's already been selected for you?
Only God can comprehend that. We can never really know what path we should take in life. Every choice we make has a consequence, and often, we don't know what the outcome will be. All we can do is trust that our choices are the right ones and hope for the best.
I'm not a theologian or a philosopher. I'm not an expert on the topic, these are just my 2 am thoughts.
I suspect most of you have pondered this question too at some point. Do we have free will or are we just acting out what's already determined? The two views seem incompatible.
We all experience making choices from small things like what to eat, to more significant issues like careers and marriage.
We live our lives on the assumption that we are making decisions of our own free will, and directing our future.
But even with the many decisions we make, we can never know enough to predict our future with certainty.
We view life through narrow lenses. We don't see the whole picture because events are still unfolding. This is because our future is always uncertain. We can make educated guesses based on our current circumstances, but those can only take us so far. We can never know what the future holds because we can only control the present.
Life isn't always straightforward. In most cases, it's never a straight road. If you think things are heading one way, BOOM! Something happens that changes everything.
Are misfortunes God's way of redirecting us onto the path that aligns with our purpose?
Even things that go according to plan always turn out better than we imagined. No amount of planning or grinding could have orchestrated such results. In your wildest dreams, you could never imagine such greatness.
There is something divine about the events. Like you're in alignment with something greater than yourself. A higher power.
Reverting to my opening question, how do you choose what's already been selected for you? I want to think that our imagination is how God directs us to a path he has predestined for us. Through our imagination, we can tap into our intuition and inner guidance. This can give us insight into our life's purpose and the path we should take to achieve it. With our imagination and intuition, we can begin to understand what God has chosen for us and make the necessary changes to pursue that path. We must have faith that whatever decision we make, God has already set the outcome. It is our choice to determine how we will get there, and it is our faith in Him that will guide us. Through this trust, we can be sure of the best outcome.
If there is not one single thought that can comfort you in your darkest times, please let it be this - one day, you will look back on the times you thought your life wasn't going as planned, and all you will see is magic. You will be reminded of how strong you were to make it through. You will look back with gratitude at the lessons it taught you. Ultimately, you will be thankful for the way it helped shape you into the person you are.
You will see how what left the path cleared the path. What you once thought was a setback paved the way for your future successes - and you will be grateful for it. It will be apparent to you how a higher plan was at work. You won't remember how stuck you felt, how far behind you thought you were, or what you wished you had done differently. You will realise that the puzzle pieces were always there. You just had to trust the process and keep trying. Everything that happened ultimately led you to where you are. There was a greater purpose to all of it.
The main character in every bestselling novel is forever changed by the events in the middle of the story.
Sometimes you have to thank God for what you don't see.
Keep pushing forward, even when you doubt whether you have what it takes to make it through another day. You’ve had that thought before and you were wrong. You proved you were capable of overcoming the unimaginable. You surprised yourself then, and you will surprise yourself again. You will keep moving forward, one small step at a time.