our free will was predestined

Today in A Year with the Church Fathers, we hear from Origen. He tells us about how God’s foreknowledge does not negate our free will.

It’s interesting how sin and redemption are retroactive in their effects. How you can sense the consequences of your sin before you commit it. And how you can see the effects of His redemption going all the way back to the beginning of your life. It’s the reason that Lewis tells us that those in hell will say they were always in hell, even when they were on earth. And those in heaven will say they’ve always been in heaven. And both will be right.

It’s also interesting (and powerful) how prayer plays into this equation. Anyone who has prayed in their lives has probably noticed that the answer to your prayer will often begin before you pray. In the 19^th century there was a man named Mueller. George Mueller felt that God wanted him to build orphanages. So he prayed for all of his needs… never told anyone what they were. But there were times when he would get down on his knees and pray that God would provide the $387 to pay a certain bill… and there would be a knock on the door. When Mueller opened it, a man would say he felt impressed to give George this money, and hand him $387. The man obviously began walking to Mueller’s house with the money before George hit his knees.

God begins catching us before we realize we’re falling.

God, thank You for knowing what’s going to happen, and taking care of us even when we don’t understand it.