(Proverbs 16:4) The LORD has made everything for his purpose.
The Bible is filled with what might be called dialectical truths—truths that appear to be in contradictory with one another, yet are both fully true.
For example:
God is completely sovereign, and at the same time we possess real moral freedom.
God is utterly transcendent, yet he is also present with us and at work within us.
These truths are not contradictions; they simply exceed our ability to fully explain or know them.
The difficulty arises when humans attempt to treat biblical truth as a puzzle that can always be understood and solved.
While many teachings in the Bible are clear and accessible, there are other aspects of God’s ways that remain mysterious.
When Proverbs says that the Lord “works out everything according to his will for our lives,” it does not mean that life is governed by blind fate or that human choices are meaningless.
Our decisions truly matter, and we are morally responsible for how we live.
This stands in contrast to fatalism, the belief that all events are fixed and unavoidable.
In some belief systems, such as Islamic fatalism, everything that happens is seen as predetermined in such a way that human action has no real significance.
I once experienced this while riding in a taxi in Turkey. The driver was taking dangerous blind curves at night, and when I warned him, he replied that whether we lived or died was simply God’s will.
That mindset reflects fatalism, not biblical faith.
Biblical Christianity teaches something different. God sovereignly governs history and will accomplish His eternal purposes, but we are not passive puppets.
We live in a fallen world where suffering, sickness, and tragedy occur—many of which God does not directly cause, such as cancer or other diseases.
Yet even in this broken world, God remains at work, guiding history toward his ultimate purpose.
Proverbs 16:4 assures us that God’s purposes will prevail. This gives us enduring hope.
Still, how God works in every situation and in our lives remains, in many ways, a mystery.
As finite and fallen humans, we will never fully comprehend the ways of an eternal God.
Mature Christians learn to live faithfully within this tension. We are content with not knowing everything about how God operates in our lives and in the world.
Our desire to know all things often stems from a desire to control the future, but the Bible instead calls us to trust God. We often try to control God himself.
Examine your own heart: are you at peace with the unknowns of life?
Do you trust that God will ultimately bring all things to his eternal purpose for your life?
God is actively at work in our lives right now, for our good, even when his ways are hidden from us.
Mature faith rests in this mystery of God.
Do you trust him?