God's Intentions Versus Actions
When God speaks to human beings about their future, His word is based on His intention to see all people blessed. He will make known His intentions without a doubt in His mind that He will do it. However, His actions are many times determined by the response of the recipient. It is then left to that person to decide whether to accept or reject God’s intention for their lives. This is hard for many people to understand but God’s actions do not always line up with His intentions because He has given us the power to decide our own destiny.
People make mistakes every day of their lives and unfortunately, this often determines the outcome of a word given. God is all powerful but He has given us a will to choose for ourselves and has always patiently allowed us to do so. God’s intention was for Moses to bring water from the rock by “speaking” to it instead of hitting it: God’s actions were determined by Moses’ anger toward the people and his disobedience to God. God’s intention was that the people of Israel would hear His voice directly. His actions were determined by the people’s fear of His voice and their request to “never hear Him speak to them directly;” and they appointed Moses to go and hear for them and to tell them what God was saying.
God’s intention was for Samson to be the strong man who would rise up against the Philistines with a healthy body and mind; His actions were determined by Samson’s will to reveal his secret strength under the seduction of Delilah thereby fulfilling God’s will with no eyes and in chains. God’s intention was that Eli and his family would carry the priesthood throughout their generations; His actions were determined by Eli’s toleration of sin in the temple and God said: “I did say that…but now I say….”
God’s intention was that Israel would remain free from the enemy’s control during the time of Gideon. A prophet gave them the reason why they were overpowered and controlled by the Midianites. His actions were determined by Israel’s disobedience and sin. God’s intention was for Moses to take the children of Israel into the Promised Land; ten spies came with a bad report and influenced the wills of over 3.5 million people. God’s action was to force them to walk in circles for 40 years and then give it to them. God’s actions were determined by man’s unbelief and their desire to go back to Egypt.
Exerpted from:
"Call Me Crazy But I'm Hearing God"
By Kim Clement
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