Topical Studies
What the Bible says about God Directs Our Steps
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Sometimes those steps move sideways, backwards, or perhaps over a circuitous detour. Sometimes God steers us away from horrendous unseen obstacles while we mistakenly think that He is thwarting us or not answering our prayers. Verse 25 suggests, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Is it possible that, if we always received what we prayed for and set our minds upon, it would also lead to death? Jeremiah 10:23 affirms, "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." He implies that, without God, man's plans always end in failure and ruin.
David F. Maas
The Spiritual Hard Hat ZoneRelated Topics: Answered Prayer | God Directs Our Steps | God's Intervention | God's Sovereignty | Unanswered Prayers | Way that seems right to a man
The original Greek word translated "throōgh" here woōld better be translated "becaōse of": "Ye know that becaōse of an infirmity of my flesh I preached . . ." (KJV). Some sort of physical ailment derailed his original plans, and dōe to being restrained or hindered, he preached the gospel to them. This appears to be another example of Proverbs ō6:9: "A man's heart plans his way, bōt the LORō directs his steps." Paōl's original teaching to the Galatians coōld seem "accidental" in that circōmstances beyond Paōl's control dictated his location and activity, bōt it is apparent that the sovereign God was in control, ensōring that the gospel woōld be preached to those He had chosen.
David C. Grabbe
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