From the human
vantage point, the providence of God is
a mysterious operation of the Divine Sovereign of the universe. Whereas
miracles were clearly visible demonstrations of Divine power (Mark
16:20; Acts
4:16), the providence of God is invisible to the human eye and works
behind the
scenes (Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20). How, then, can we identify the
providence of
God in our lives? How can we be sure that we are not either fighting
against
God (Acts 5:39) or attempting to help God out in a way that does not
correspond
to the providence of God (Gen. 15:2-3; 16:1-4). Confusion and
self-doubt buffet
Christians today who truly desire to do the will of God and who are
conscious
of the providence of God, but who are not sure that they can correctly
interact
with the unfolding providence of God in their lives. One may even
ponder if
God’s providence is relative to his or her life, the providence of God
perhaps
being directed by our Divine Sovereign elsewhere. “After all, the
universe
doesn’t revolve around insignificant me,” one might muse.
Even being a
miraculously endowed Christian in the
first century was no guarantee that one could easily ascertain the
providence
of God in one’s life. For instance, the apostle Paul, indisputably one
of the
most prolific miracle workers in the era of miracles (Acts 19:11-12; 2
Cor.
12:12), was unsure about the unfolding of God’s providence in his
evangelistic
ministry (Acts 16:6-10). On his second extended missionary endeavor,
the
apostle Paul and his traveling companions had been laboring in the
Gospel in
Asia Minor. At one point, the Holy Spirit had forbidden them from going
either
of two directions or working any longer at that time in Asia Minor. The
missionary team had come from the east; the only direction from which
they did
not come and from which they were not forbidden by the Spirit of God
was to
proceed east, toward Europe.
Of course, the
clincher for the apostle Paul was the
miraculous night vision he received (Acts 16:9-10). Nevertheless, the
apostle
and his partners in evangelism inferred that God desired them to preach
the
Gospel next in Europe. Borrowing a principle from Paul’s first
missionary
journey, through God’s providence, our Divine Sovereign “opened the
door of
faith unto” (in that case) “the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). The providence
of God
opened a door of opportunity for evangelism for Paul and his
co-laborers in the
Gospel.
What does this
mean to us? What can we discern from
these instances about the providence of God in our lives? Given
that the
invisible providence of God is no clearer or obvious than it is, how
ought the
child of God today to conduct himself respecting the possible unfolding
providence of God in his life? First, Christians must
acknowledge the
existence of the providence of God (Rom. 8:28). Second, the
child of God
must anticipate the possibility that God’s providence may unfold in his
life
(Gen. 50:20). Third, the Christians must endeavor to be all
that God
wants them to be, in whatever capacities they occupy (e.g., elder,
deacon,
minister, teacher, soul winner, husband, wife, offspring, sibling,
employee,
employer, etc.) (Col. 3:23). Fourth, every child of God who has
confidence in the providence of God needs to look for the open door of
opportunity (i.e., test the waters, trial and error, strive to be an
ever more
useful servant of God) (Titus 2:14; 1 Cor. 15:58).
The divine power behind the providence
of God is no
less powerful than the divine power by which miracles occurred,
including the
creation and maintenance of the universe and all that is in it (Col.
1:16-17).
May we prayerfully test for the providence of God (prod the life
circumstances
everywhere about us for opportunities to serve), so that the powerful
providence of God that may unfold in our very midst is not wasted on
us. The
providence of God is a terrible thing to waste!
