Meant To Be

7/27/2022

Written By: Frieda Dowler

Have you heard people say, “It was meant to be”, or “It was supposed to happen”? Maybe you’ve said it yourself when something you wanted didn’t happen.

When we set our hope on something and it doesn’t materialize, we ask why. And when no answer is clear, we blame the universe, or sometimes blame God. It’s a way of settling disappointment and moving forward. We call it fate or destiny. A look into these cultural philosophies reveals this.

Fate means humans are powerless and unable to change events the gods or an undefined force have fixed in advance. Fate means humans are powerless in a world they don’t control. Thinking like that can lead to a life of despair because it means we are helpless to affect what happens to us. Why try? Things will happen as they are supposed to. It can also lead to reckless living because it means our choices don’t matter, since our future has already been determined. Fate has decided our future.

Destiny says you shape your future by the choices you make. You have the power over your future. Thinking like that can lead to a life of pride where, if we are self-determined enough, we will succeed. It can also lead to self-hatred, where poor choices bring shame or a low self-opinion. We reap the consequences of our decisions, whether good or bad. Destiny says we decide our future.

Today’s culture swings between fate and destiny. Humanity’s struggle is often rooted in what we believe about our future. According to the Bible, if you are a Jesus follower, this is how our future is determined.

Predestination is God’s version of our future.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 KJV.

When we answer God’s call to live our lives for him, then God uses everything we experience to mold our character into his likeness. When we surrender our lives to God’s ways, he uses every circumstance and every choice we make to work for our good. And the result is spending eternity in heaven. In God, there is always hope, not despair, apathy, or greed, like when fate or destiny is the belief system.

Now the next two verses carry this thought a little further. It may be the source from which fate or destiny come. But those world views leave God’s influence out. As Christians, we believe God is the source of life therefore, we look to His Word for explanations in life.

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.”  -Romans 8:29–30 MSG

The term predestination comes from these verses in the original King James Version of the Bible. It has been the subject of discussion and debate for centuries. But it is a subject integral to Christianity. Predestination, like eternity, exists. It is the word given to describe God’s assurance to the people who pursue his ways that we won’t be separated from him. He knew us and called us to be his children before we were born. He planned a future and set us on a path toward heaven. He gave us the example and teachings of Jesus as a guide. All of this is revealed in the Bible.

God allows our circumstances so we will seek him, and we shape our character to be like Jesus as we choose to move toward our eternal destination of heaven. God planned this in advance. But he gave humanity a free will to make choices. When we pursue God’s way and not our own way, he will use every circumstance to mold our character to be like Jesus. So in that sense you might say, “It was meant to be”, or “That was supposed to happen”.

Predestination is God’s answer to fate and destiny. This is a small attempt at a complex subject but the next time someone says, “It was meant to be”, you may think of this writing and give it further thought.

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” - James 1: 1-2 MSG