[This post is in a weekly devotional series called Everything New. Sign up here if you’re interested.]
Providence is true because of God’s character. It is his nature that defines his relationship with everything that he made. The piece of your faith that says God is good lines up with the piece that says that life is divinely superintended. Living theology begins with God, and then takes you on a tour of the rest of reality. God’s nature and acts are the landscape out of which all other things grow.
To put it more personally, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
God is the Father in heaven. We see in the pattern of earthly fathers–when they are behaving the way fathers should–that they don’t give stone for bread or snakes for fishes. No, fathers don’t do that, and “your Father in heaven gives good gifts.”
You might think that people who have very little would have a more difficult time believing in providence than those who have much. But I find that the more I have, the easier it is for me to forget about providence. If there is plenty of food in the pantry, lots of clothes in the closet, and some money in the bank, then I’m tempted to trust in the provision rather than the provider. And when I trust in the provision, then I worry about whether the provisions will run out. How much is enough? Well, just a little bit more.
But how does that farmer in Mexico with a small plot that he has worked by hand year after year trust that he will have what he needs? He has no choice but to keep on planting and keep on praying. Because he has known times of drought, he understands the harvest, and he receives it as the blessing of heaven. He does not presume what he cannot assume. He is able to trust, and he is able exercise patience as only a farmer comprehends patience.
I don’t know exactly what February will bring, or April, October, November, or December. I suppose it is likely that next January I will be on this planet having looped millions of miles around the sun, and billions of people with me will have had countless interactions. We will have seen the seasons come and go. We’ll know someone new, and say goodbye to someone we’ve known for a long time. We’ll see.
But this much we can know: God will not change. His loving care for his creation will not stop. No nation will challenge his governance and succeed. And nothing will happen outside his vision.
Believing in providence, that God is governing what he created, gives us peace of mind because we live in a piecemeal world, and we need to know that our benevolent Creator is holding the pieces together. Heaven does touch earth. God’s plan for the world is not lost in the newspaper headlines of the world. The broken pieces of our lives are actually the building blocks out of which God rebuilds our lives. The only things that are torn down and remain rubble are the things that cannot (and should not) be rebuilt. Everything that is eternally good will be on display in the new heavens and the new earth.
Excerpt from Putting the Pieces Back Together: How Real Life and Real Faith Connect. Free DVD available now.
It is good to know that our Father is in total control of EVERYTHING and absolutlely nothing happens that He does not know. It is amazing, too, that He works it our for our good. We must trust in His ever lovingkindness. His Hesed, His covenant. Mercy. Grace. Love.
I often wonder why people think we should have less in order to properly worship our God? If God gives you more then it would seem to me that you would continue to seek Him that gave in the first place, not because He gave, but just because that was what you were doing when the blessings came. I know at times we can become complacent, however if I am a seeker then I have to believe “things”, will not distract me from Him which I seek. We have jobs that provide paychecks so we devote time to those jobs, shall we not give our Creator our time and sacrifice, knowing His provision. If we establish our priorities correctly, when I wake in the morning my first thoughts should be of my Lord and when I lay down to sleep my last thoughts should be of my Lord, throughout the day His Holy Spirit should be my Counselor…if I truly believe, then He can pour out all the riches He wants from heaven I will still worship Him, never once thinking my provision comes from me or any earthly being or thing.
Yes it can be done, this type of life can be lived…if you believe!
I very seldum stray from the camp that we are in because it causes confution but as i read this i felt the holy spirit inside stiring and my thoughts going to other verses that confirmed what HE was wnting to say i thought that you allowed HIM to use you very nice
GOD bless
The Lord has truely blessed me and my family. The more we give to him, the more he returns to us.
The Lord has blessed me with a beautiful,healthy , family I am truely blessed, Our God is truely an Awesome God!
For the longest time I did not realize that I was worth anything..I was struggling to make my way.Because of the way I was raised, ..All I knew was how to be afraid, alone, controlled by fear and pride..That was a lot of pressure>>What an amazing difference knowing I am really loved and am worth something!! It took a long time for God to teach me.(He still is !!).When I had only Him to depend on He taught me its ok to let go..Philippians 4:11-12 touched my heart..I have learned -I can finally grow and I do belong!!We have little,, but I am so rich- I want to share my riches with every one…Its free to talk!! Being thankful everyday and trusting My Father.. I can trust My heavenly Father!! I have never had that much before! I am so thankful!! We are His hands we can reach out to help and the more are rich! God gives to us so we can give to others!! God help me share your wealth!!
Thanks, Linda. There are many many people who need to discover the grace of God the way you have.
Linda, it’s so amazing that we felt the same way and had the same fears & lack of self-esteem directly related to the way we were raised. The enemy isolates you and makes you feel like you’re not worthy, have no value & are totally alone in your misery when nothing could be further from the truth. We didn’t realize that Jesus was watching, protecting us, shaping our character. He always knows what situations we will face as we grow and He was preparing us, even in those places of darkness when we were positive we were alone. He is the answer to every question, every fear and the absolute peace it brings cannot compare to anything the world offers. Now, there is nothing in this world I want more than Jesus. In this country we have more blessings than even we can imagine, but the gifts He has given are worth more than all the gold in the world.
“Putting the Pieces back together” Is this DVD still available? I woke up this morning in absolute despair, thinking that my life has out pictured the antithesis of this scripture. Although I sat down to write to God and give him a piece of my mind with this very scripture in mind. As though I was going to prove to God that he was not who he says he is……using all my currently circumstances as evidence. I was fired from my job in January 2014, and learned that pure evil in my opinion entered my life in October 2012, in the form of a man I chose to marry, but I didnt recognize it as such and subsequently it has wrecked havoc since. My faith is there, I know in my head all the goodness and grace of God the Father, but in my heart I feel utterly abandoned. As though every single thing I have asked for, I have been given the exact opposite. I thought I had been called to home school my son in August, so reluctantly I agreed, stepping out on faith that God would provide a job or a means to make living that complimented but as to date, its been like a piece meal of a journey. As I write to you, I have $100.00 to my name (with a M.A. in Economics.ha) ….and even that money is a loan from a friend but I am scared to even use it….I feel like the last dollar will be my last breath. Why Father does this have to be so hard? What am I believing that contributes to this mess?