Is every event part of God's Plan?

Sometimes, for the sake of keeping life in perspective, I like to think about God’s plans for me: Which plans I’ve knowingly accomplished, which ones I’ve done without even realizing it, and which ones I’ve blown off because I’m lazy and corrupt.

Since it’s time for a New Year to begin, this topic seems especially timely— after all, this is the season when we all fool ourselves with resolutions concerning washboard abs and learning to play an instrument and productive plans for the year, so why not consider God’s plans for us?

The very issue of “God’s plans for us” is difficult to fathom. This is because His plans for each of us falls somewhere between “complete free will” and “complete pre-destination.” Understanding the nuances of this incredibly complex theological issue is, fortunately, not a “salvation issue.”

How you stand on the Free-Will vs. Pre-Destination is not something Christians believe you will be asked at the Pearly Gates, anymore than you will be asked your favorite color or the average wing-speed velocity of a swallow. As a result, it’s something we discuss and argue, without the discussion ending with the proclamation that the other person is a “heretic!!!”

I have a theory on how God’s plans work, which I’ll share right now. I’ve bounced it off a couple Priests, and they were okay with it. Yes, they probably thought it was sophomoric, but they were too kind to say… they simply told me they enjoyed reading it, and that it steered clear of heresy. So, here goes:

As way of an analogy, consider the game of chess. It is said that a good, college-club chess player can think several moves ahead. Bobby Fischer, on the other hand, could think more than a dozen moves ahead. Armed with this amazing skill, Bobby Fischer could beat an excellent college-club player 1,000 out of 1,000 times. No matter what strategy the college player adopted, Bobby Fischer would know “what his opponent was thinking before his opponent thought it.” No matter how often they played, an opponent would be simply be overwhelmed by Bobby Fischer’s superior intellect and will. And if Bobby Fischer wanted the game to end with you still in possession of your King, a Knight, and three Pawns, that’s how the game would end.

Now, imagine God playing chess. Not only can He analyze your strategy, he can read your mind as you’re thinking it through. Suffice it to say, you’re a little outmatched when you sit down at the Chessboard with the Great I Am. And I think that’s how God runs the Universe:

He allows us to make selfish choices, but He imposes His will by knowing what all the options are, and shaping events the same way Bobby Fischer did on the Chessboard. When you have that level of understanding, you don’t need to rely on pre-destination to impose your will… the future unfolds in real time in accordance with what you want to happen.

But, let’s complicate matters—suppose you sit down at the Chessboard with Bobby Fischer, and make a few moves, then decide on a whim to eat a Rook, light yourself on fire, and jump out the 20th story window. Not much ol’ Bobby can do about that, because you quit playing the game he knows.

Now, let’s take the Rook-eater, and put him down at the Chessboard with God. God would know, as soon as the opposing player decided to eat the Rook, that things were spiraling out of control. And He could stop it. But He also sees in that instant the thousands of potential results from the upcoming Rook-eating, fire-lighting, gravity-ignoring decision. He sees the good, the bad, and the ugly that could come from the impending tragedy. Perhaps the crazy move will result in many of the jumper’s friends turning to God for answers. Perhaps the jumper will land on a serial pedophile. Perhaps the jumper will call attention to the fact that falling 20 stories hurts, and thus prevent other people from repeating the move.

In an instant, God connects all these brand-new dots, and if the jumper jumping helps God’s ultimate will be done, it’s “lookout below!” If the jumper’s act of jumping hinders God’s ultimate will, he ain’t getting out the window no matter what.

Do you and I wish God would stop every tragedy? Sure, but that’s because we can neither connect all the dots, nor can we understand the perfect morality under which God operates. Intellectually and morally, you and I are just a couple of six-year olds who want a life-long diet of cotton candy and funnel cakes. We want to live in heaven, not on earth…which isn’t an option right now.

In terms of God’s plans, very few of us get to do something dramatic for God. In fact, it’s very possible that God leads us into a task for the express purpose of impacting one specific person, who will in turn impact another specific person, who will then influence the life of someone else… and all this has to happen, because God has a very important mission for that person sometime in the future.

I’m not sure what God has in store for me in the year ahead. I’m pretty sure Heidi and I will be here in Charleston, but there’s that old saying that goes, “If you want to hear God laugh out loud, tell him your plans.” So, we’re up for anything. We’ll keep our ears open, and stay flexible, and see what God’s plans entail.

Heidi is hoping God has washboard abs on the list for me.