The Blessing of Providence

Due to some of my reading and preparing last week to preach on Psalm 97, I have been contemplating the blessing of the doctrine of providence, the comfort of truly knowing that God is in control. This doctrine is the root of hope, and thus joy. It is the basis of courage and perseverance as can be seen in the lives of many who have gone before us. Sadly, too often, the truth of God’s sovereignty is considered only as an abstract idea, often one to debate. Of course, we need to think about and wrestle with doctrine, but we must also live doctrine; and, this doctrine is truly one for living.

“The LORD reigns let the earth rejoice!” (Psalm 97:1)

This is the truth animating the end of Romans 8. This is why we have the confidence of Rom 8:28 that indeed all things will work together for good for those who love God and are called by Him. This is why nothing can separate us from His love. This is why the Psalmist regularly rejoices- indeed boasts- in the sovereignty of God.

This quote reflecting on Rom 8:28 has ministered to me this week:

“The truth is that all things, including the fruit of your own blunders and stupidity, sinfulness and ignorance, including the things we cry to God for deliverance from (as Paul did in 2 Corinthians 12:8), work together for good to those who love God” (Leith Samuel).

Praise the LORD! Because of Christ there is therefore now no condemnation on me (Rom 8:1)! Indeed, even the fruit of my stupidity and sin (quite a bumper crop!) will be caused by God my Father, the Almighty, to work together for my good. Can there be greater news than this? Do I now have cause to rejoice and to persevere regardless of what befalls me?

Whirlwind of a Week

It has now been a week since the tornado came by our house and went on to hit Union University so severely. Most readers of this blog have probably already seen the coverage. If you are looking for information or are wanting to keep up the three key sites are:
Union’s homepage- http://www.uu.edu/
The Official Recovery site- http://www.uurecovery.com/
Tim Ellsworth’s Blog- http://www.timellsworth.com/

Also Brian Denker recently took some great photos of the damage and he has a link to more photos. Here is one from Brian of the dorm room where my wife lived when we first met until we married 16 years ago this last week.

I personally have received many, many emails, calls from friends from many places expressing concern and prayers. The outpouring of support has been amazing and I have been very proud of the response of our students as they have been interviewed by various media outlets. I have already heard from various people about how the care of the community and the testimony of students has impacted lost family members, opening conversations with some who were previously closed to any discussion of the gospel. God is most certainly at work. He is advancing His kingdom and working things together for the God of His people.

The doctrine of providence is especially important and helpful in times like this. It does not answer all our questions, but it gives us a basis for perseverance. We are not governed by chance. We are not at the mercy of the whims of uncontrolled events. All things are in God’s hands, and, therefore, there is hope and meaning.

Disasters in life are more common than people typically want to admit- really only we in the developed West have the convenience of being susceptible to thinking otherwise. In this tornado we did not meet an anomaly. Rather we saw a stark reminder of the reality of a fallen world. We must not say, “This was unusual. The rest of life will roll along just fine.” That is sometimes the answer of pop psychology, and it is hollow. Rather the scriptures would teach us to say, “This is the sort of thing that happens in a fallen world.” It is a reminder that all things are not yet as they should be. It is a reminder that we are fallen and in need of redemption. It should cause us to long for the day when all things will be made right, when the curse is removed. It should cause us to read with more empathetic appreciation Paul’s words in Romans 16:20- “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Christian hope is not the flimsy idea that suffering will not usually come, but is the sturdy recognition of the inevitability of suffering in this life (2 Tim 3:12) coupled with the knowledge that God will eventually destroy evil and make all things right. It is this truth which has always inspired the saints (1 Cor 15:58; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Tim 1;12).

Our God Reigns!