Moment With Betty

Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence proclaims that God is in complete control of all things.

 Through divine providence, God accomplishes His will and ensures that His purposes are fulfilled. God governs the affairs of men and works through the natural order of things

People sometimes wonder about the possibility and effectiveness of divine interventions in our world and this is okay because we are humans and not God. However, as Christians, Providence should lead us to imbibe the attitude of trust in all circumstances, but we don’t all the time. While everything is going well, many people hardly remember God but when they experience the difficulties life brings, they turn to God as though He had forgotten them, blaming Him for the evils that befall them, and demanding His urgent intervention.

 Many today think it is legitimate to question the possibility and effectiveness of divine intervention in our world. For some, God cannot intervene as a matter of principle because to them, once He created the world He should withdraw from it and allow things to function on its own, with its laws. For others, God should intervene at certain times, especially when the course of events is not going the right way and needs to be corrected

The first thinkers however, should know that creation is not yet finished because God created the world with the mind of achieving an ultimate goal that is still to be reached. “With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them life and existence but supports and sustains them in life, at every moment, He also allows them to act and brings them to their end. God is not like an architect who having completed his work, turns his back on it. No, God is a loving Father who both “governs” and “cares for” all His creation.

 In the New Testament, Jesus confirms this vision by His actions and teachings. Indeed, He reveals Himself as the “Incarnate” Providence of God, who as the Good Shepherd cares for the material and spiritual needs of people (John 10:11,14-15; Mt 14:13-14). God, therefore, teaches us to abandon ourselves to his care (Mt 6:31-33;). Trust Him and have faith in Him.  

We know that humans have free will, but we also know that God is sovereign. So, how those two truths relate is hard for us to understand, but we see examples of both truths in Scripture. Saul of Tarsus was willfully persecuting the church, “kicking against the sticks” of God’s providence (Acts 26:14)hence, the same God who created, sustains and guides everything. Another example of divine providence or God’s providence in Scripture is the story of Joseph. God allowed Joseph’s brothers to kidnap and sell him as a slave, and then lie to their father for years about his fate. This was wicked, and God was displeased. Yet, at the same time, all of their sins worked toward a greater good: Joseph ended up in Egypt, where he was made the prime minister and he used his position to sustain the people of a broad region during a seven-year famine, including his own family. If Joseph had not been in Egypt before the famine began, millions of people, including the Israelites, would have died. So, Joseph’s going to Egypt was by divine providence. God providentially allowed his brothers the freedom to sin by selling Joseph into slavery thus, God’s divine providence is directly acknowledged in Genesis 50:15–21.

 Finally, we see divine providence or God’s Providence also taught in Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to His purpose.”  We are also told that God allows things to happen for a reason and that His plan is always good. Trust me, God is never out of control, He is always in control . He sees and knows everything. So, let us ask Him to increase our faith so that we can understand Him better.