The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Does God Overrule Our Intentions?

A dominant theme throughout the first five books of the Bible is that God fulfills his promises. No matter what people intend, they cannot thwart God’s purposes. People or circumstances may seem to frustrate God’s plan, but they can never derail it.

For example, Abraham’s problems were never too much to overcome. He nearly lost his wife to foreign rulers (twice), fought with Lot, was too old to father children and was commanded to sacrifice his beloved son. In each case, God provided. This cycle continued throughout the patriarchal narratives: the promise was jeopardized by human actions but preserved and fulfilled by God.

The promise to Abraham involved three main elements: descendants, relationship and land. Genesis focuses on God fulfilling his promise of descendants. Exodus and Leviticus focus on God preserving the relationship. Numbers and Deuteronomy focus on God’s promise of land, and in Joshua God fulfills the promise of land. At each juncture, God accomplished his desired result through his own creative means. People’s schemes do not destroy God’s plans. In fact, God sometimes overrules people’s evil intentions to accomplish his own purposes. The Sovereign Lord works out everything to its proper end (Pr 16:4).

Taken from The NIV Quest Study Bible.