Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Tuesday, 29 November 2022 08:07

God’s providential care
by Terry Broome

How often I’ve wanted to be able to define how God works in His Providence to our good. I know that He does and yet I cannot know all His ways. In fact, Paul declares that His ways are past finding out: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom 11:33 KJV)
It’s impossible to explain to a grieving faithful Christian parent how that their child died and yet another parent’s child was spared. Yet it doesn’t keep me from praying to God for each one of them. I most certainly praise and thank God for the one who is delivered, but I cannot on the reverse side blame God for the one who was taken. We are comforted by the realization that God is very much alive and attuned to our requests. We use a term for His watchful provision for us, “Providence,” or “God’s Providential Care.”

In His Providence He brought about many marvels throughout Bible history and delivered certain ones from death’s door who were to be vessels of glory such as King David and the Apostle Paul. It’s easy for us to just pass that off as a different time period when God worked with men through different means. Indeed, He did use the miraculous element – sometimes without man’s involvement, and sometimes through the hands of endowed men. Man’s ability to perform signs, wonders, and divers miracles did cease in New Testament times as taught in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, but God didn’t lose His ability to care for us.

There is a related thought which opens up even more conviction that God works in our lives. We can’t define how God does it, but some have thought it’s through guardian angels – which is not clearly defined in the Bible. Certainly, He can use many other means beyond our comprehension, but in 1 Cor 10:13, Paul writes: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” I don’t know to what extent and by what means God will affect circumstances to make a way to escape as the text indicates, but I do know it happens!!! And that Paul wanted us to be comforted by that real hope.

One could write books about this subject and still not adequately define God’s methods and involvements in our lives. Suffice it to say that the Bible affirms that He is involved. This does not mean that He makes my choices for me or miraculously makes me take certain paths. I praise Him for every good thing that happens in my life, and I plead with those who have had bad experiences to draw near to God even as men like the Apostle Paul did rather than blame Him.

The author can be reached for comments at 256.574.2489.