Do You have ‘Free Will’? Really?

Let’s see… Isaiah 63:17 “Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.” - Berean Study Bible Did those Isaiah reflects in this passage, make themselves stray from God’s ways? No. GOD did. By the same token, did they themselves hardened their own hearts to stop fearing God? No again. GOD did that too! As you can see, Israel had NO ‘free will’ at all. God had a plan with Israel, just as He had a plan with every one and everything in His creation. God is a God of purpose and just as Israel played [and still plays] an indispensable part in God’s holy Plan, so does all the rest of God’s creation… to this day and further. And that includes both evil and good. Daniel 1:9 “Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,” - NASB 1995 In this verse God clearly gave the official a compassionate heart. God made the commander’s heart kind in favour of Daniel, because God’s holy mission with Daniel had to be accomplished. Exodus 9:12 “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.” - Berean Study Bible Since God’s timing is always perfect, the time had not yet come for Israel to be delivered when He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Every second perfectly fits all the uncountable events since creation. Every action of man stems from the heart, not the brain. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.” - American Standard Version What is going on in one’s heart is reflected in one’s actions. These very actions determine a course of events that irrevocably shape the history of countless people, a ripple effect ultimately determined by the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And all these ripple effects have an impact around the globe… an impact that leads to the ultimate goal God has for all humanity… ultimate joy for all in the end! God even used the emotion of hatred to be part of these ripple effects, the hatred of Joseph’s brothers towards their younger brother of seventeen. Genesis 37:4-8 “ 4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. 5 Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.” 8 “Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.” - Berean Study Bible Genesis 43:26-28 “ 26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him . 27 He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?” 28 “Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him .” - Berean Study Bible Did God have a plan with Joseph? Yes. Joseph was the one God intended to save Israel from hunger during the famine thirteen odd years later. For that to happen, Joseph had to leave home for Egypt to become his destination. What a beautiful history. Out of hatred of man God created joy. As you can see, Joseph’s brothers indeed bowed before him. They were a means to a goal. If you are reading here and you claim to be a ‘Christian’, believing in ‘free will’, how on earth can you still believe in such a nonsensical myth? And not only that, how can you point ANY finger to ANYONE for that matter? Yes, Joseph was in agony as a seventeen year old boy, sold to strangers. Yes, a horrific deed does have devastating effects on the one on the receiving end. But to know that God is in control and that He has a plan for everyone, no matter what the atrocity against one is (or was), this knowing is the balm that will heal the wound eventually. God gives our wounds, but He binds them again. Job 5:18 “For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.” - Berean Study Bible If we cannot apply what’s written in this wonderful Book, the Bible, to our own lives, then we miss out on immeasurable personal freedom as a result of that, and ESPECIALLY the freedom amidst our personal challenges from fellow people for that matter! God has a holy mission with everyone of us, our perpetrators included! And if we were the perpetrator, we too can find solace in God’s loving arms. Yes it’s difficult to forgive others and ourselves alike, but it is doable and subsequently liberating. The truth always sets free, God’s corrective hand afterwards in spite. May God set you free you from this atrocious lie of ‘free will’.