He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
God is sending my daughter, Rebecca, and her husband, Parker, to Tallahassee. Parker has been working there for months, and Rebecca got the first job she applied for. House prices have inflated there, so they’re nervous they can’t afford a nice one. I reassured them God won’t send them to Tallahassee and not provide a great home for them to live in. A house with three acres became available barely outside their price range, so they offered the most they could afford. Today they’re anxiously awaiting an answer from the sellers. It’s the perfect home for them, so I’m sure God’s working to make the home theirs.
Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth. Faithfully, he attended synagogue every Sabbath. As was the custom, he stood up to read Scripture and sat down to give the sermon. Was it a coincidence that the scroll containing Isaiah 61:1-2 was handed to him? The Nazarenes had no doubt heard about his ministry. It was expected that Jesus would read the Scripture and give the sermon. God had planned that day to make it clear to the Nazarenes that Jesus was the Messiah. God’s Spirit arranged for the perfect Scripture to be given to Jesus, the one that stated He would give freedom, vision, and favor because He was the Messiah, the One who fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.
Father, God, help us to see you have a plan for our lives and that your Spirit is with us arranging circumstances and giving us power to live your plan.
I believe that God has a plan for each of us. When you get through hard times sometimes you look back on what happened and you can see that God was leading you through a difficult time. Other times we pray for God’s help and we feel like we have been abandoned because prayer is not answered the way we feel it should be. God is with us all the time whether we make a good decision or a bad decision. I don’t feel that every event in our life is predestined. I think that Parker got a job in Tallahassee and God is walking with Parker and Rebecca as they begin a new journey.
I agree with everything you said. As Jesus knows every hair on our head (Matthew 10:30), he also knows what the events in our lives will be and how we will react to them. “For his eyes are upon the ways of a man and sees all his steps.” (Job 34:21) I definitely think that is different from predestination because we have a lot of choices to make in life.