Does God know what I'll do tomorrow?

[iaskquestions]

I know many of you will cooly answer “yes” and say that God is “omniscient” and stuff like that, but what I’m looking for is a bible based answer.

I personally don’t think God knows what I’ll do tomorrow, for God has given me a free will and it’s up to me to use that free will and choose between the alternatives that I have. God may know all the alternatives, but he does not know for sure which one I will choose (that’s what I think, correct me if I’m wrong).

In the Old Testament we see a few examples which seem to support my “theory”! For eg. If God knew in advance that Saul would turn away from him, why would he make him king? If God knew in advance that Solomon would turn away from him, why would he give him so much wisdom? If God knew in advance that Eve would eat the fruit, why did he plant the tree… I can go on and on. Even Jesus said, “Will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he returns?” Why? Does he not know?

Please let me know your views.

 

[JRKH]

I know many of you will cooly answer “yes” and say that God is “omniscient” and stuff like that, but what I’m looking for is a bible based answer.

I personally don’t think God knows what I’ll do tomorrow, for God has given me a free will and it’s up to me to use that free will and choose between the alternatives that I have. God may know all the alternatives, but he does not know for sure which one I will choose (that’s what I think, correct me if I’m wrong).

In the Old Testament we see a few examples which seem to support my “theory”! For eg. If God knew in advance that Saul would turn away from him, why would he make him king? If God knew in advance that Solomon would turn away from him, why would he give him so much wisdom? If God knew in advance that Eve would eat the fruit, why did he plant the tree… I can go on and on. Even Jesus said, “Will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he returns?” Why? Does he not know?

Please let me know your views.

I will give the most diplomatic answer possible.
God is - All the Rest is Details -

I see thse kinds of questions all of the time and really think that they are the wrong questions. It really doesn’t matter whether God can or does or chooses to know what we are going to do tomorrow, but rather do WE know what we are going to do.

Peace
James

 

[Rolltide]

Yes, he absolutely does.

Let me express it this way. Let’s say that I’m a football player. My team plays the entire season and manages to make it to the Super Bowl. I am fortunate, and I win the championship. God has granted me free will. I had the opportunity to play the game any way I so desired. In a particular instance, I could have thrown a pass, run the ball, taken a knee, or, if I’m particularly bad, I could have even decided to throw the game.

Now, let’s say that God is the league commissioner appearing on the ESPN postgame show. The commissioner sets the rules for the game and oversees it’s operations. As a guest on the show, he gets to go back and comment on all of the great plays during the year that got my team to the Super Bowl and allowed me to win it. He knows every decision that happened throughout the year and is able to re-examine it in minute detail. He also sets the rules by which the game is played.

In real life, God is outside of time (or perhaps it is easier to express it as “God is sitting at the end of time, looking back at everything”). Since there is no time, he can see everything at once, just like the ESPN announcers. He set the original rules, just like the commissioner of the league, but just because he knows everything that happened during the season doesn’t mean that he influenced those events.

 

[FCEGM]

I know many of you will cooly answer “yes” and say that God is “omniscient” and stuff like that, but what I’m looking for is a bible based answer.

Well, I will cooly answer “yes”, precisely because God IS omniscient; this is the belief of all Christians - and Jews. This is known both by reason - since God, being, God, is perfect and nothing can be unknown to One claiming the title - and by Scripture: simply read Psalm 139.

I personally don’t think God knows what I’ll do tomorrow, for God has given me a free will and it’s up to me to use that free will and choose between the alternatives that I have. God may know all the alternatives, but he does not know for sure which one I will choose (that’s what I think, correct me if I’m wrong).

See above.

In the Old Testament we see a few examples which seem to support my “theory”! For eg. If God knew in advance that Saul would turn away from him, why would he make him king? If God knew in advance that Solomon would turn away from him, why would he give him so much wisdom? If God knew in advance that Eve would eat the fruit, why did he plant the tree… I can go on and on. Even Jesus said, “Will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he returns?” Why? Does he not know?

Everything that happens is under God’s Providential care. Please read this section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

vatican.va/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p4.htm

A few excerpts:

V. GOD CARRIES OUT HIS PLAN: DIVINE PROVIDENCE

302 Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created “in a state of journeying” (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call “divine providence” the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection: By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, “reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well”. For “all are open and laid bare to his eyes”, even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free action of creatures.161

303 The witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history. The sacred books powerfully affirm God’s absolute sovereignty over the course of events: "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases."162 And so it is with Christ, “who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens”.163 As the book of Proverbs states: "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established."164

310 But why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? With infinite power God could always create something better.174 But with infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world “in a state of journeying” towards its ultimate perfection. In God’s plan this process of becoming involves the appearance of certain beings and the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection.175

311 Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love. They can therefore go astray. Indeed, they have sinned. Thus has moral evil, incommensurably more harmful than physical evil, entered the world. God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil.176 He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it: For almighty God. . ., because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.177

 

[iaskquestions]

Ok, I’ll agree with you, but I’m still not fully convinced. Perhaps I have to resign myself to the fact that I can never understand why God lets certain things happen when he knows their bad consequences. Only he knows. He must be laughing at me right now!

 

[jmcrae]

I know many of you will cooly answer “yes” and say that God is “omniscient” and stuff like that, but what I’m looking for is a bible based answer.

God is outside of Time, and can access it at any point He wants, or all of them at the same time.

In the Old Testament we see a few examples which seem to support my “theory”! For eg. If God knew in advance that Saul would turn away from him, why would he make him king?

In order to train up David to be the King that He wanted him to be.

If God knew in advance that Solomon would turn away from him, why would he give him so much wisdom?

Probably in order to teach us all that wisdom isn’t the same thing as faith.

If God knew in advance that Eve would eat the fruit, why did he plant the tree… I can go on and on.

So that He could send Jesus to be our Saviour.

 

[joeybaggz]

Ok, I’ll agree with you, but I’m still not fully convinced. Perhaps I have to resign myself to the fact that I can never understand why God lets certain things happen when he knows their bad consequences. Only he knows. He must be laughing at me right now!

No, God’s not laughing at you. Your question is the same question that probably everyone asks in some form or another.

I wasn’t going to chime in here and the other posters have been thorough. The only thing I offer to you is that God has given man free will in the image of His own free will. Free is Free, there is no such thing as conditional or coerced freedom. God may know what is going to happen, but that freedom given to man is a self-imposed limitation God imposes on himself.

 

[jjformica]

This is the way I think it is…

God has before Him everything past, present and future, all at the same time (God is not bound by the laws of time). Therefore, He knows ABSOLUTELY what you will do tomorrow, because He’s watching it right now. He also knows what you will do the day after tomorrow, and the day after that…

 

[CentralFLJames]

God is omnipotent. That is biblical.
Here are a few references:
Omnipotent (all powerful): Creation narratives that all that is came to be by the power of his word. Also, see Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3 49:25; Exodus 6:3; Ezekiel 10:5; Revelations 4:8; 11:17.

Omniscient (all knowing): Esther 14:14 (chapter not in Protestant bible); 1 Cor 2:10; Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 23:29 Douay; 23:19-20 RSV-CE (book not in Protestant bible); Ps 138:3-5 Douay
There are many more that speak of God’s knowledge.

More here: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=214020

So, your question really is completely inadequate since not only does he know what you will do tomorrow but he will know what you will do and perhaps more importantly NOT do from today and for all time and for eternity.

I am discerning that the problem you are having is reconciling “why” God permits things to happen if He knows what will happen. The answer is - No matter how much evil and suffering one sees there is an infinitely greater good that will come out of Divine Providence. There is NOT A SINGLE EVIL THING you, or I or anyone, not even Satan can do that will take one iota away from the totality of a greater goodness that will come out of God’s Divine Providence when it reaches its final objective - NONE. God is so awesome that He can play evil against itself to serve Him and bring Him a greater glory. That does not mean that God does not suffer with us in our sorrows and pains arising from disobedience and sin - far from it. God never can forget the suffering He put Jesus through for our benefit. But if God can share in our suffering to save us from our transgressions this means He has something unimaginably GOOD in store for us that is infinitely more joyous than even all that suffering - its unimaginable for us humans.

That leaves our task simply to comfort God by being thankful for His letting Jesus suffer and die for us and to bring Him whatever small acts of goodness we can do for Him in cooperation with His grace. Apart from that all we have to do is trust God, receive the sacraments and repent and get up each time we fall - no matter how many times we stumble and disappoint Him. He knows our weaknesses and is here to give us His hand to help us learn to walk with Him.

Jesus