Monday Morning Devotion-January 31, 2022
Providence is Not Just a City in Rhode Island
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes. Romans 8:28
Excerpts from the book: "Monday Morning Devotions"
Providence is a city in Rhode Island and is not a theological term found in the Bible. However, it is by definition, much more than that!
Many people go through life thinking that good and bad things happen in their lives by chance. "Gosh, I was lucky that I started driving to work later than usual," says the person who passes a multiple-car accident on the road. "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all," remarks the one who has experienced misfortune.
Providence belies those statements. Providence speaks of a working God. It describes God's activity in our daily world.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, poses this question, then comes up with an answer ("The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 2"): "And is the Creator and the Preserver of the world unconcerned for what He sees therein? Does He look upon these things with a malignant or heedless eye? It cannot be. He hath made us, not we ourselves, and He cannot despise the work of his own hands. We are His children. Consequently, He is concerned every moment for what befalls every creature upon earth."
In other words, God did not just wind up the universe like a giant clock and let it run down on its own as the seconds tick away. He is in control of everything that happens---good and bad! God's involvement in all daily affairs is termed His Providence. The Bible tells us that God has a master plan for His creation. The purpose behind the plan can be called His Providence.
God's providence does allow our mistakes. He can achieve His purposes in spite of these goofs on our part. It is we who do not fulfill those plans; therefore, we don't get all we could out of our talents.
German theologian Paul Tillich (The Shaking of the Foundations, 1948) points out
"Providence does not mean a divine planning by which everything is predetermined as in an efficient machine. Rather, Providence means that there is a creative and saving possibility
Implied in every situation which cannot be destroyed by any event."
If we are to trust God in all circumstances, we must also recognize our responsibility. We are called on to act prudently. Ours is an active, not a passive, relationship in which He shows us the way to go. He doesn't pick us up and carry us. There will be difficulties in life. There will be heartache. We will be forced to do things and take paths we don't want to follow.
Theologian Albert Outler said: "The stylish Christian finds life good---this life in this world. And so, he takes the bitter and the sweet with tears and laughter because he is so sure that this life and this world are as fully and really in God's care and keeping as the affairs of angels and saints in heaven. He sees joys and sorrows as a training ground for growing persons."
Adversity is how God grows people. Job said: "Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7) Just as Job was put through a variety of difficulties including losing his children, he was able to trust God and what the Almighty was doing. "The Lord gives, and the Lord has taken away" (Job 1:20) said Job when a messenger reported that a mighty wind caused the house to collapse on his sons and daughters killing them.
Even when he was afflicted with painful sores and was suffering so much his wife tried to convince him he would be better off dead than the condition he was in, Job said: "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10)
God's providence means there will be joy, but there will also be adversity. But we are called on to persevere because "perseverance develops character." (Romans 5:3-5)
Joseph persevered when his brothers sold him to a caravan of slave traders. Through his faith he was eventually elevated to governor and when his brothers came to him, unaware of who he was, begging for food he protected them and his father and said: "Even though you intended harm to me. God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today." (Genesis 50: 19-20) God's providence had worked in an unusual way in the life of Joseph to bring good out of evil.
The English word providence is derived from the Latin word, providere, which means "to foresee." The inference is that God sees, ahead of time, what is needed and He takes the necessary action to achieve it.
As the Christian Believer study series of J. Ellsworth Kalas says: "Providence portrays a God who provides what is needed. But such divine action is recognized only by those who interpret the course of history through eyes of faith---in the affairs of individuals as well as the affairs of nations." We can only really understand providence after the fact. How it is measured varies with the individual because of the differen perspective each person has.
God uses people to bring about His provident actions and to achieve His purposes. Often, those people don't even realize they are being used. Human beings do matter to God. They figure strategically into His plan. Believers see themselves as co-workers with God in fulfilling the divine purpose.
If you believe that God is in control of everything that happens then you also believe that He has worked out everything throughout history. British historian Herbert Butterfield says those are only two alternative views about life or history, "Either you trace everything back in the long run to sheer blind chance, or you trace everything to God."
God is not an absentee landlord but remains ever faithful, upholding, blessing, and guiding the creation to its appointed goal.' (Daniel L. Migliore)
Through God's providence we will fulfill His plan for our lives.
Prayer: Thank you Father God for being a loving, caring heavenly Father through whose providence we survive and prosper. In the name of Jesus. Amen!