The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Do God’s Plans Change Based on What We Do?

Because of our finite capacity for understanding, we struggle to reconcile how God can remain sovereign over all things while giving human beings the freedom to obey him or defy him. In light of this conflict, consider the following statements the Bible makes about God.

1. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Ro 8:28). The apostle Paul did not say that God causes all things; the fact that we have free will means we are able to make our own choices. But whatever we choose, God works in all things to bring about his purpose.
2. “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (Pr 19:21). This proverb reminds us that our plans cannot thwart God’s purpose. So even though we have free choice, we can’t disrupt what God actively purposes to do.

The Bible never attempts to solve the mysterious tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. The Bible assumes both are at work in the events of history. Yet this much is clear: God never changes so as to mislead or lie. He is never caught by surprise. He knows the decisions each person will make. Yet, in a manner we do not fully understand, his knowledge does not infringe on an individual’s freedom before God.

Taken from the NIV Starting Place Study Bible.