Brief: God gives us free will, but He controls
what will happen.
Scripture: Proverbs 16:1, 9,
33; 19:21; 20:24; James 4:13-16
Intro Activity
Have one student walk out of the room. While they are gone,
have everyone else move seats. When the student reenters the room, wait until
they take their cue from everyone. They will probably sit in a new
seat.
Ask the first student why they sat in a new seat. They will probably
answer by saying 1) that’s what they thought they should do, or 2) someone had
taken their seat.
Ask the students who changed seats why they chose the new seats that they
did. They will probably answer with 1) they wanted to go to the new
seat, or 2) the teacher told them to move seats.
Point out that there were two reasons for each, one being what the
student thought or did, and the other what the teacher told them to do or made
them think. Then, make the statement that this is how everything
that we say or do works. We might think something or do something,
but God is always the one influencing us. God is working behind the
scenes and ultimately deciding what will happen.
Read Proverbs
16:1.
Who are the two people acting in this verse? What are they
doing?
A person plans out
what they are going to say. God determines what the person actually says. So,
here we have two reasons for what is said: 1) the person planning it out and 2)
God deciding what they will say.
Read Proverbs
16:9.
What is the person doing? What is God doing?
The person makes
plans, but God directs their steps. Again, two reasons for what a
person does: 1) the person planning it out and 2) God deciding what will
happen.
Read Proverbs
16:33.
What is the person doing? What is God doing?
The person is
rolling the dice, but God is determining what comes up. Again, two
reasons for what happens: 1) the person throwing the dice and 2) God deciding
what it will be.
Read Proverbs
19:21.
What is the person doing? What is God doing?
The person is
making plans, but God decides what will actually happen. Again, two
reasons for what a person does: 1) the person planning it out and 2) God
deciding what will happen.
If the people in these verses are planning what they’re going to do and
what they’re going to say, and they’re the ones throwing the dice, but it’s
always God that decides what’s going to happen, does that mean that we don’t
have free will?
Read James
4:13-16.
What was the person doing in these verses?
Planning what
they’re going to do.
Who would ultimately decide if what they’re planning happens?
God. It’s the same thing in the Proverbs verses. We can plan to do
something or say something, but if that’s not what God’s will is for us, it
isn’t going to happen. His will is what will prevail, not ours.
Imagine I put you in a room with a door and a window. After a while, you
decide you want to leave the room. You have two choices on how to leave, right?
You can leave through the door or through the window. You decide to leave
through the door. So, you walk to the door and turn and pull on the handle. But
the door’s locked. I locked it from the outside. So, now what do you have to do
if you want to leave the room? Go through the window.
Did I take away your free will by locking the door? No. You still had
free will. You decided to leave through the door. It’s just that your free will
decision didn’t work out. My plan for how you would leave the room worked out.
God gives us free will. We can plan all we want. It just might not happen
that way. God’s will is what will ultimately happen.
Read Proverbs
20:24.
Describe a time when you’ve wondered how you got to where you were in
life. What do you think God’s plan was for bringing you to that point?
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