Providence isn’t a word we use a lot in conversation. Even in Christian circles, it has become less and less popular. Instead, we often substitute words like ‘sovereignty’ or ‘God’s will’ in place of the word providence. But neither of those terms fully encompasses the meaning of providence. According to Webster’s dictionary, providence means (1) divine guidance or care, (2) God conceived power sustaining and guiding human destiny. In fact, the closest thing we have to this Latin word in modern English is ‘provision’.
Is Providence Biblical?
Where do we see providence in the Bible? We see it in God’s promise in the Garden, that the seed of the woman would one day crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3). We then see it in God providing himself a sacrifice… a ram caught in the thicket… This just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22). We also see it with King Saul… diverted and distracted by various means… as he sought again and again to kill David. We later see it in Joseph… warned by an Angel to flee to Egypt with Mary and their newborn son… just as Herod ordered the slaughter of all the children in the land. And finally, we see it in Jesus’ crucifixion… his hands and feet pierced… hanging on a tree… as soldiers cast lots for his clothes… in fulfillment of prophecy a millennium earlier (Psalm 22). In considering all of this, perhaps a greater question is, where do we not see providence in the Bible?
What About Today?
What about today? Is providence as effectual for us living in the 21st century as it was for those living in biblical times? The Bible answers that question with an emphatic “Yes”. Because God is the “same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). And God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Furthermore, Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). So we can know “for those who love God, all things work together for the good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Do we recognize God’s guidance and care for us today, God’s power to sustain and guide our destiny in the 21st century?
Observing Providence
Take a minute and observe providence in your own life. Do you see God’s hand at work in your past, where you were born, who your parents were, where you went to school, in those you met along the way, in your times of difficulty, or through your unique circumstances? The puritan author John Flavel, in “The Mystery of Providence” (1678), encourages us to observe such works of providence…
“Without due observation of the works of providence no praise can be rendered to God for any of them. Praise and thanksgiving for mercies depend upon this act of observation of them, and cannot be performed without it. Psalm 107 is spent narrating God’s providential care of men: to His people in difficulties (vv. 4-6); to prisoners in their bonds (vv. 10-12); to men that lie in languish upon beds of sickness (vv. 17-19); to sailors upon the stormy ocean (vv. 33-34). Yea, His providence is displayed in all those changes that occur in the world, debasing the high, and exalting the low (vv. 40-41), and at every paragraph, men are called upon to praise God for each of these providences. Verse 43 shows you what a necessary ingredient to that duty observation is: ‘Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.’”
Applying Providence
It is one thing to praise God after we have seen the effects of providence. It is another thing entirely to trust God in the midst of our circumstances. Yet that is exactly why we need to pause and observe God’s providential care over our past. As Paul so aptly puts it, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” (2 Corinthians 1:10). As John Flavel tells us, “Providence carries our lives, liberties, and concerns in its hand every moment. Your bread is in its cupboard, your money in its purse, your safety in its enfolding arms.”
May we take some time to meditate on His divine guidance and care over our lives. May we consider how His power has sustained and guided us. In doing so, may our hearts praise Him for what he has done… and trust Him for what He is now doing…