DEUT1632 Trust and free choice in the service of God. Human actions that constitute either service of God or transgression can take place only if three factors are present: (1) choice by the heart and mind; (2) intent and resolve to do what one has chosen; and (3) the effort to complete the intended act with one's outer limbs and bring it into actuality. In regard to what is not hidden [or removed] from us, such as the choice of service or transgression, and the intent and resolve to carry out what one has chosen, relying on God in these would be erroneous and foolish; for the Creator, make He be exalted, has left to us the choice of serving Him or rebelling against Him, as it is written: “Choose life” (Devarim 30:19). But the carrying out of the intended act of service or transgression He did not leave to us, but made it dependent on external means that are sometimes present and at other times unavailable. If a person relies on God in the [very] choice of serving Him, and says, “I will neither choose nor resolve to do anything in the service of the Creator, until He chooses for me what is best,” he strays from the straight path and deviates from the right way. For the Creator, may He be exalted, has already commanded us to choose the performance of His service and to direct our intent toward it with vigor, resolve, and whole heart, for the sake of His great Name; and he has instructed us that this is the right way for us in this world and the next. If the means are available [to us] and we are able to carry out the work of service which we had previously chosen, we will receive bounteous reward for having chosen God's service, for having intended to discharge it, and for having carried out its acts with our external limbs. And if our limbs are unable to carry out the acts, we will receive reward for having chosen and intended to do them, as we mentioned earlier. The same is true in regard to punishment for transgression [whether committed or only intended].