Everything does happen for a reason.
At any given moment in my life, Almighty God, because He is All Loving, wants me to be in the best of all places for the purpose of growing in sanctity and moving forward toward my salvation. I’d say this is a true proposition.
Is He able to put me in the best of all places? Let’s consider it. Does the Omniscient God know the precise results in every detail that will occur from the creation He has set into motion and which He continues to actively intervene and influence? I say, Yes.
Because He has an infinite number of scenarios to choose from, and He knows which one is best for me, knowing in advance what my free will choices will be, All Loving God always acts in such a way as to give the best result for me-- and for you-- remember He has an infinite number of possibilities to choose from.
If so, then can I not say that I live in the best of all possible worlds to lead me to eternal life. my free will, and everyone’s free will, and our human condition as sons and daughters of Adam considered? Again, I have to say, Yes.
And since God is always dealing from an infinite number of possibilities, even those things that do not affect our salvation or growth in sanctity must be ordered along the lines of some principle of good, say, beauty, order, or other combination of good ends, since God always acts for the greatest good because He is All Good.
This is why I believe that everything indeed does happen for a reason, even if we do not always know the reason.
I view the world around us as Matrix-like, referring to the movie, except that the “programmer” is no other than Almighty God, and their is no sinister plot. Each of us lives in a perfectly contrived environment. God has each of us in the right place for our own well being, that is, to further our personal salvation. Everything around us might as well be a script it is so well planned and laid out, except that it is really full of random happenings and other people making free will choices, all of which is foreseen by Almighty God.
This is not a fatalistic view. It is God already knowing our future free will choices. We are free. But don’t think for a minute that we can ever get away with the smallest infraction of the rules. Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing. Matt 5:26
It does not make me fearful. It makes me hopeful, and it makes me confident that no matter what is going on in my life and around me, God has it all under control, and that He is watching out for my best interests. If God be for us, who can be against us?
An inspiring post! Chance and choice do not change the ultimate outcome of divine Providence…