fate

When we read about troubles that seem to be coming for humanity, or for our own lives, it is easy to feel helpless, as if nothing can be done. Some of us quietly conclude that everything in life is already decided and that no effort will change it. But is this really so?

The Bible gives us a gentler picture. Even the disasters God Himself has announced, and even the blessings He has promised, are not always carried out exactly as spoken. Often they depend on how people respond. Consider what God told the prophet Jeremiah: