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Foreknown


Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. (Psalm 139:4) 

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) 

            That God knows what is going to happen before it does causes some people great difficulty. Others, it provides with an escape. What happens is not their fault, God made them do it. One of the divides among Protestants is between the Armenians, who believe that God knows but doesn't (always) determine, and the Reformed, who believe that God's foreknowledge is due to His choices. At least, that's my simplified understanding of it.
            I recently wrote about God's existence outside of time (Eternal Now). Given that He can enter time at any point, He can effectively work backward, forward and even possibly sidewise in time. His knowledge then is incomprehensible only in its extent. I'm amazed that God can remember it all. Of course, if He couldn't, He could refresh His memory, and we would never know. That means that whether we understand or not, He knows it all.
            Science tells us that everything that happens to us is actually stored in our memories. Why would we expect that God is less able to remember than we? Our problem isn't with remembering, it's with recalling. Before we stop bending our minds with the concept, consider that God not only knows beforehand what will happen, but He also knows what could have happened.  He chooses what is best for us, even if it's not what we want. 
           All of this is interesting fodder for meditation, but the thing that we need to hold on to is the last, that God knows not only what will happen, but what could happen, and what does happen is for our best. Some people complain about this, because (they say) they don't understand how __________ could be in someone's best interest. Would it be better if they lived forever and got everything they wanted? Wouldn't God making someone (everyone) happy be better? Would it be best for a baby to be carried everywhere? Fed anything and everything it wants? Given anything and everything it wants? Permitted to do anything and everything it wants?  
            I am glad that God knows what is coming up in my life, the good and the bad. I am joyful that He has it all planned out, and He's told me that He won't let me miss the turns.

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