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

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.