There are three belief systems.
1. God is in control. Some believe God is in control of everything that happens on the earth. This cannot be true because bad things frequently happen. Hurricanes, tornados, floods, tsunamis, wars, car accidents, and disease are not part of God’s nature. God is a good God, yet bad things still happen on earth, this proves that God is not in control. God also “wants all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4), yet people die unsaved every day. God’s will does not always come to pass. The teaching that God is in control is misleading.
2. Satan is in control. The second belief is just as wrong. It says that Satan is in control. This cannot be true because there are still pastors that are alive. If Satan was in control, do you think he would allow any pastor to continue to preach? If the devil was in control, there would be hell on earth.
3. I am in control. The third belief is that I am in control of what happens to me on this earth. My choices create my circumstances. God does not control your decisions. God has only predestined the consequences of your decisions. The decisions I make shape my destiny. If I make good decisions, God’s will for my life comes to pass. If I make poor decisions, then Satan’s will for my life becomes a reality. The only power that can trump the will of God is the decisions of man. The truth is that God’s will is seldom done on earth as it is in heaven. But, if the choice of a human trumps the will of the God, imagine what our choices can do to devastate the enemy.
Your decisions decide your destiny. Your decisions decide your wealth. Your decisions decide your health. Your decisions decide your relationships. You decide who you marry. You choose where you will live and how much money you will make. Your life is exactly the way you want it to be. Your choices have brought you to where you are today. If you truly wanted your life to change, it would. Do you really want your life to be better? There is only one way for that to happen. Take action and move. Notice I didn’t say more Bible reading. Or prayer. Or going to church. Or waiting for God to open a door. Or having an anointed preacher lay hands on you. All these things are fine and they can’t hurt, but they alone will not change your circumstances. Change can only come when you put action to your decisions.
Your ability to put action to your choices is the most powerful commodity in the universe. Do not wait around until God decides to bless you, take action so God can bless you. God does not bless your waiting, he blesses your steps. Your Faith decides divine timing. When you discover the faith to take a step, God begins to move. Many say they have ‘faith’ but they do not really have faith because they never take action. James 2:17 says, ‘…Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead’ Action equals movement. We know that faith comes by hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17), but recently God told me that miracles come by doing God’s Word. Faith without action is dead. James 1:22 says, ‘Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says’ Doing requires moving. We must put what we believe into action in our lives.
Many people say they believe God’s Word; few actually put God’s Word into practice in their daily lives. Let me give you an example. Your pastor mentions Luke 6:38, ‘Give and it will be given to you.’ Everyone cheers, claps their hands, and shouts ‘Hallelujah.’ Then the offering plate is passed. Instead of putting the verse into action, many keep a death grip on their wallet or purse. Why? Because they say they believe this verse, but they really don’t. If they really believed, they would give every time the opportunity presented itself because they know they cannot out give God.
Your movement reveals what you truly believe. God has a plan for this world. But His plan is dependent upon humans who have been given free choice. Our choices determine whether or not we participate in His plan. God’s plan is set, but the people who implement it are fluid. Your life is part of God’s perfect plan. But, God is not the One who makes that plan come to pass in your life. Your choices decide if God’s plan will be manifested in your life. God allows us to make our own decisions. As we make decisions, He walks beside us as a Friend and a Guide. As a Friend, He offers advice. As a Guide, He points us in the right direction. The voice of the Holy Spirit shapes and guides our decisions, but your decisions decide your destiny.