Man's Goings of the Lord

"Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?" (Proverbs 20: 24)

Men are not lords and gods of their own destinies. God is the Potter and we are the "clay." (Romans 9) Not only are man's "times" under God's sway, but his "goings" to are "of the Lord," that is, they exist and come to pass solely according to his will and suffrance.

"Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?" (Lamentations 3: 37)

Nothing can "come to pass" but what the Lord has afore willed to "come to pass." That is what the prophet is alledging. God is the Lord of the fates and destinies of every creature.

God sees man's "goings." Yea, he not only sees them, but has foreseen them. God has foreseen all things. He never learns anything.

Does this mean man is not responsible for his "goings" and his "goings on"? No! God could prevent your sinning, and may have already done so in your life a thousand times, but you are responsible for every sin, though he does not always stop you.

Men may think God has nothing to do with where they are "going." Whether they go to Heaven or Hell, whether they go a long life or a short one, whether they "go" anything, it is all "of the Lord," for he is sovereign over all things, and nothing comes or goes without his will - "for in him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28) Man's "goings" are not "of man" himself.

It is because God is God of our circumstances, of all our "goings" and all our "times," that we cannot comprehend our lives, the meaning behind them, nor the meaning behind all the varied events in our lives. Our personal histories are often enigmas to us. We say, "why me?" or perhaps, "why not me?" and we are often awed by our lives, with its twists and turns, and see our lives as mysterious dramas written from above.

Friend, where have you been? Where are you now? Where are you "going"? Do you know the end of the path you are on? Are you on the "path that leads to destruction," or the "path that leads to life"?