The Adjustment Bureau is a very thought provoking movie that basically mocks the idea of man having a free will, all the while allowing for this one man's choices to redirect the "plan" that is already set for him.
Premise: A "higher power" known as "the chairman" has a plan for every person on the planet. He has solicited a group of "specialists" to make sure the plan stays in place, and making adjustments along the way as people stray from the path. It is an ever morphing plan that sees the directions and possible choices that a person has, calculates the consequences of the options, and then concludes the best course of action. Usually people follow that main direction (not meaning they make the best choices, but overall produce what ultimately was designed for them) However, if left to themselves, people will choose the wrong direction (hence the 500 years of the dark ages, World Wars, the great depression, etc) so "the chairman" keeps things on track with his army of helpers.
This won't work for Matt Damon's character, he's got a girl he met once (which was a faux pas for the guys who were supposed to maintain the plan) that he wants to be with. The Chairman has decided that this is not best for him, but that is not good enough for him. He wants to be with this girl - no matter what.
I will stop there and let you see the movie, but there are a couple of thoughts I have about what the movie is dealing with.
The movie toys with an idea that although someone smarter than us has a plan for us, he may not have all the details, and his plan may not be best. If I believed this about God, then ultimately I would need to pursue my will, because of course I know more than God. However, if I understand that God sees things much clearer. He understands more than I could possibly comprehend. His interest is not exclusively His own (although His glory is preeminent) but He is interested in my best as well. I will be not only willing, but anxious to follow His instruction and submit my will to His. Yes, it is sacrifice. Yes, it is allowing someone else to call the shots. Ultimately though it makes the most sense - IF God is more than a "chairman" guessing at the future.
The movie makes a gross assumption, one that I believe many Christians make as well, and that is that the future is ever changing. As you watch the people see life morph in front of them, as people stray from the plan, they have to "adjust" them back, otherwise "ripples" are caused in the future. This is not accurate from God's perspective. To God, the future is, just as He is. It is not coming. The past is not going. To Him it is! Because HE IS. We can no more comprehend this than we can the complexity and massiveness of space, yet we must understand that God sees the end from the beginning, and that our decisions neither surprise God or stifle His plan. We do not morph the future in God's eyes, we merely do as He already knew we would do. This is neither easy to understand nor is it easy to explain. Yet the ramifications of a true Biblical understanding of history are powerful.
God does not change. His will does not change. His plan does not change. The end is completed and it is perfect. Day in and day out I wrestle with the events of the day, the choices that I make and the implication they have on the future. This is good to do. It needs to be done though in light of a powerful all knowing God who has already included me in His plan. My choices do affect my future, but they do not change God's plan. This gives me confidence because I know God is good and He is all powerful. His plan is good and it can be trusted.
Unlike Matt Damon's character, I can rest in the reality that God isn't going to get it wrong. My plan is not better than His. We can look at how He directed the whole Old Testament to bring us our Savior, and know that He is still working His plan till we see Him face to face.
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