You know that saying "Everything happens for a reason"? It is pretty vague. The phrase could be "understood" that God has his hand in everything that happens and there is some deep importance to every event OR that there is a basic cause and effect in all things and that God's hand is not involved. Looking for opinions, scriptures and thoughts based on personal experience on the subject.
I think it is pop theology psychobabble. Everything happens. Check. Some things happen because the natural laws of the universe that God established are not contradicted. Check. Some things happen because God supernaturally overrides the natural laws of the universe that God established. Check. God can and does take every event and uses it to work toward our ultimate conformity to the image of Jesus. Check. And that's all I have to say, about that.
God's natural laws also incorporate randomness and probability. On certain, physical levels, God let's the dice roll. There are varying strata of importance but the Creator oversees all with an eye toward ultimate fulfillment. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." Mt 10:29-30
I asked this because I believe in God's Sovereignty, but I do not understand it. For example: God knows very well how each one of us will react to any given situation. I am "supposed" to trust Him above anything else. If I trust Him I will listen..I will follow His Word, I will intuitively know (by His Spirit) how to deal with what life hands me-- which cannot contradict his Word. I might have very good "instincts" but can I say for certain that my instincts are God's Wisdom, or just my way of fighting against what I am "called" to do by his Word?
If your (spiritual) "instincts" are not in contradiction to clear directions from the Word, there is no conflict when determining a course of action. Beyond that, I have no such confidence that my "wisdom" is a product of the Holy Spirit. I find, personally, that most important circumstances must be met with serious prayer and seeking, coupled with a total surrender of my own will. I dare to say that oftentimes the Lord leaves the final decision to me, once I have checked my heart and motives - and the Word. When there is a fork in the road, take it.
I am in agreement-- Prayer is more often than not the only solution. I will "take back" what God's Word tells me or even his Spirit so that I can go on with a cause that in my estimation "seems" the only course-- I might even find Biblical support for my actions, which could qualify as filth to him.
When I hear 'everything happens for a reason' my brain thinks, 'no kidding: people act, there are natural laws, etc., etc.'. What is meant (I think) is that 'everything that happens is meaningful', and not just meaningful, but meaningful towards a positive end. I reject that. Everything happens, and some of the everything we can assign meaning to, or get meaning out of, or is directly God's plan, but there are plenty of things that happen just because that's how the universe is ordered. But that's part of the appeal of Jesus, and I don't mean the capricious idea that everything that happens is part of God's plan.
Romans 8:28 falls into there somewhere, doesn't it? But for sure, not everything is because God foreordained it. Otherwise "Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." wouldn't even be in the Bible.
I would take that to mean that as the creator of the sun and its system, He makes it rise on the evil and the good, and the same for hydrologic cycle. I don't take that to mean (allowing exceptions) that God is directly involved in an ongoing manner, outside of His general grace in sustaining creation. I'm not sure if that agrees with you or not, but there it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It means that I'm just as likely to get wet in a downpour as a lost person. That's things that just happen sir.
Good points here. I think sometimes people can get so caught up in trying to figure out just what God's will is in any given situation they lose sight of the possibility that maybe God doesn't have a preference. To take a silly example I doubt it makes any difference to God's long term plan whether I sit in my recliner wearing my jeans or change into my sweatpants. If I have milk in my coffee or cream. If I take this route or that route to get to church on Sunday. And so on. It would be a waste of time to agonise over whether God wanted me to settle in front of a Netflix binge wearing my jeans or my sweatpants. Sometimes God gives us a clear prohibition - "thou shalt not steal" to use just one example. Sometimes there is a clear mandate - "Love the Lord your God". Absent a clear mandate or a clear prohibition I think we get to make our own decisions, and God will give us whatever guidance we need if he has a specific plan for us. If I feel a strange urge to take the long route to church on Sunday, it's not as if there's any reason for or against it but maybe there's something God wants me to see or do so I might as well try it. If God wants me to do something drastic he's quite capable of giving me solid enough signs to point to what is expected.