Yes, and Amen

Does God providentially work out his plans in the world, or do humans have the ability to make true choices?

There is much in the scriptures that seems to support both ways of thinking, so I answer the question, "Yes, and Amen."

It's not one or the other, it's both.

I don't think that this is a cop-out or a contradiction- it is just a natural (and reasonable) response to 1) the limitations of the human mind and 2) the infinity of God's mind. I believe that there are many things about the Lord that seem like contradictions to us, but when we see as he sees (in eternity) we will find that the "contradictions" are not true contradictions.