A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9
The devil would have us believe that living in rebellion equates to liberty and broad mindedness. Yet surrender to the will of God is the furthest thing from losing independent thought or action. When a man has obtained the liberty found in Christ, the forwarding of his own ideas are at the same time the outworking of God’s will. Says the Most High to entrusted mortals:
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Psalm 32:9
It is not the Lord’s desire that His servants be always forced in a certain path by external circumstances. We are not to be like the ridden beast or the ocean waves. God desires to educate us as we move forward in our own volition. The Lord promises:
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalm 32:8
As holy men of old acted as it were independently, they were nevertheless acting under divine direction. Upon hearing of the affliction and reproach of the colony at Jerusalem, Nehemiah took action on his own accord. Volunteering his brain and brawn in the cause he saw as worthy, his spring of action led to the reconstruction of the walls of Zion.
In the gospel era, it was reported to Paul from the house of Chloe that the Corinthians were in trouble. In response to the need, the apostle carefully devised a letter containing the most constructive rebukes and instruction his mind could muster. While prayerfully committing their way to God, these two great men were not directly ordered by God to do what they did. Both men acted naturally to correct the problem, while at the same time the Lord directed every step they took.
If the servants of God this day do not likewise act of their own volition, the work suffers, and souls are lost. Not only so, but they fail in their calling, and receive the same rebuke as did the wicked and slothful servant who hid his talent in the earth. As the crowning act of creation, man is honoured to be accounted ‘labourers together with God’ (1 Corinthians 3:9). Our divinely ordained autonomy is to be exercised in the Lord’s service. It is our prerogative to take initiative; to volunteer the powerful faculties we have been endowed with to glory the kingdom of God.
Christopher Sparks