Episode 292: The Beautiful Yet Terrifying Gift of Choice
Download MP3Is God really in control if we get to choose? Dot and Cara finally tackle the question they swore they would never bring to the podcast: God's sovereignty and our free will. They don't pretend to have it all figured out (spoiler: they don't), but they do walk through why God can handle our hardest questions, what the candy-or-broccoli choice has to do with it, and how Peter, Hagar, and Adam and Eve show us that there is always a way back. Pull up a chair, grab your Bible, and lean in with us.
Episode Recap
Got a question about today’s episode or something else you’d like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know!
Episode Recap
- Intro (00:00)
- Write this down: 1 Chronicles 29:10-12, David blessing the Lord as sovereign over all (00:15)
- Cara and Dot admit up front that they don't have this one figured out, and that's okay because God can handle our questions (00:54)
- Do I really want to surrender my life to a God who isn't in control? Why Dot finds comfort in not being the one in charge (02:09)
- God is sovereign, and out of that sovereignty he made the rules and gave us the power to choose (06:23)
- You don't have to understand everything to trust it: electricity, the cloud, and FaceTiming across the country (07:46)
- Why God gave us a choice: he wanted children who would choose to love him, and there is real freedom in owning our choices (10:47)
- Candy or broccoli: the parent sets the choices, but we still get to pick, and we don't get to pick the consequences (14:08)
- Peace in obedience, why it can look like the people choosing badly are winning, and what Jesus told Pilate about power (18:20)
- God knew what we would choose, Peter's denial, and why there is always a way back to him (22:51)
- Forgiveness doesn't erase consequences, but God isn't punishing you, and your story is not over (26:16)
Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at hello@dotbowen.com.
This Episode’s Scripture Verse
1 Chronicles 29:10-12 ESV — "Therefore, David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said, 'Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel, our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory, and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand, it is to make great and to give strength to all.'"
