God’s Predestination

"With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."— 2 Peter 3:8

When we talk about God’s foreknowledge, we need to understand something crucial: God doesn’t live within time. He sees the beginning and the end at once — birth and death, past and future — all in a single view. Nothing is hidden from Him. Everything is laid bare before His eyes.

God is just, and in His justice, He gives every person a chance to be saved. He offers each of us the freedom to choose. But there are also those whom He has predestined — chosen in advance to be His children, to carry His purpose, to speak His Word, to act as His voice and hands in the world.

Throughout Scripture, we see this truth reflected in parables and stories — like the tale of the prodigal son, or the world's rejection of the One and Only Son.

The apostle Paul puts it this way:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified;and those He justified, He also glorified.”— Romans 8:28–30

In the Old Testament, God spoke through prophets. People listened to them, honored them as messengers of God’s will. These men declared God’s plans and warned of what was coming.

Think of the prophet Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh — a city hostile to Israel — and preach repentance. But Jonah didn’t agree with God’s mercy toward Israel’s enemies, so he ran in the opposite direction.

But God had a plan. Jonah had been chosen, and he couldn’t outrun it. The farther he fled, the greater the danger — until he finally surrendered in the face of death. And even then, God didn’t destroy him for disobedience. He redirected him — because the mission had to be fulfilled.That’s a picture of the Father and the Son: where love, mercy, and forgiveness rise above misunderstanding and resistance.

Just like He chose Paul:

“This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”— Acts 9:15

Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was life-altering. The glory of that moment left him blind — but also awakened. His mind, his heart, his path — everything changed.Paul became one of the greatest apostles, a cornerstone of the early Church.

He was foreknown, called, justified, and glorified.

God has many ways of revealing His will:– through a burning bush,– through the voice of a donkey,– through signs in nature,– through angels,– through healing and resurrection.

Jesus said:

“I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”— Luke 19:40

But God also speaks through pain, through sickness, through trials — like a burning stick snatched from the fire (Zechariah 3:2).

When God’s hand moves openly in someone’s life, it is often a mark of divine calling.It’s a holy invitation — to continue the mission of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.To become a co-heir with Christ.To carry within you the divine DNA of the Holy Spirit.