God’s Providence

Greetings All,

     This morning at the men’s group I attend (where we were discussing the life of Fanny Crosby from last week’s thought) the conversation strayed into a discussion of the providence of God, or the sovereignty of God over all the affairs of our lives. Even the smallest details. Even the hurtful details. Things we can now (though not at the time we were going through it) thank God for, and even the things we may have wished had been different. God's providence is His divine oversight of the all that happens in this universe.
     In light of that conversation I wanted to send out a “thought” on that topic. A topic which I do not hear spoken of as much as I used to. Yet,  I would ask you to read, consider what is said, and see if what follows fits with what you believe and have been taught. I myself find the topic fascinating and very comforting. I trust you might also. This selection is by Ray Pritchard. Enjoy.

     “Providence is God’s gracious oversight of the universe.  Every one of those words is important. God’s providence is one aspect of his grace. Oversight means that he directs the course of affairs. The word universe tells us that God not only knows the big picture, he also concerns himself with the tiniest details. Here are five statements that unfold the meaning of God’s providence in more detail.

He upholds all things.

He governs all events.

He directs everything to its appointed end.

He does this all the time and in every circumstance.

He does it always for his own glory.

     The doctrine of God’s providence teaches us several important truths:  FIRST, God cares about the tiniest details of life. Nothing escapes His notice for He is concerned about the small as well as the big. In fact, with God there is no big or small. He knows when a sparrow falls and he numbers the hairs on your head (Luke 12:6-7). He keeps track of the stars in the skies and the rivers that flow to the oceans (Job 38-41). He sets the day of your birth, the day of your death, and he ordains everything that comes to pass in between (Psalm 139). SECOND, he uses everything and wastes nothing There are no accidents with God, only incidents. This includes events that seem to us to be senseless tragedies (Romans 8:28). THIRD, God’s ultimate purpose is to shape His children into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). He often uses difficult moments and human tragedies to accomplish that purpose.

     Many verses in the Bible teach these truths, including Acts 17:28, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3, Proverbs 16:9 (“in his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”), and especially Psalm 115:3 (“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him”). The doctrine of God’s providence is really a combination of four other attributes:

Sovereignty—He is in control.

Predestination—He is in charge of how everything turns out.

Wisdom—He makes no mistakes.

Goodness—He has our best interests at heart.

     In the words of R. C. Sproul, “God doesn’t roll dice.” Nothing happens by chance. Ever."

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     Here is a story that is said to be behind the incredibly insightful and beautiful words of William Cowper's hymn that follows.  A story that exemplifies God's providence. Reportedly this is the last hymn William Cowper (1731-1800) ever wrote, and here is the story said to be behind it. Cowper often struggled with deep depression and doubt. One night he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a driver (horse and carriage, obviously) to take him to the Thames River. However, thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the river (another version of the story says the driver got lost deliberately). After driving around lost for a while, the gentleman finally stopped and let Cowper out. To Cowper’s surprise, he found himself on his own doorstep. God had sent the fog to keep him from killing himself. He realized that even in our blackest moments, God watches over us.

     He wrote the following hymn in light of that and other incidents (difficult and pleasant in nature) which evidenced the hand of God guiding the circumstances of his life -- can we say in a "Proverbs 16:9" manner?   “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

GOD MOVES  IN A MYSTERIOUS WAY

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain."

     Can you trace the hand of God's providence in your life?  Do the circumstances of your life suggest an invisible hand of power and grace was guiding you to a destination you did not intend to go to?  Was your story written by you, or do the details of your life-story suggest another author scripted it?  Just some thoughts to ponder….

     Grateful for a God who cares enough to guide, direct and sometimes over-rule our choices, Pastor Jeff

For Each Day A Prayer

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" will surely qualify as the shortest one I've ever sent out! 
     It's a prayer by Blaise Pascal, the famous and brilliant French physicist and defender of the Christian faith. He is more well-known for his book, "Pensees" (meaning, "Thoughts") where with great wisdom, insight, reflection and logic he addresses and answers objections to the Christian faith. It has helped many a skeptic on their journey to faith in Jesus. This thought, however, is simply one little prayer he prayed.  A prayer packed with so much faith and profound spiritual insight (even though very short) that I thought it deserved to stand on its own.

     It is found in a book I received in the mail yesterday from Honduras, as a gift from my good friend Edith Peters. (Thank you Edith!)  The title is, "For Each Day A Prayer."  The author (the collector and arranger of the prayers found in it) is Elisabeth Hamill Davis.  It was published in 1905.
     She does not say where she found this prayer, but I offer it to you for your consideration -- requesting only that you might read it, and then honestly and earnestly ask yourself if you could sincerely pray it as your own, stating the truth he states, and requesting those things he asks for.  Enjoy.

     "The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away, blessed be the name of the LORD."

Job 1:21

"O Lord, let me not from this day forward desire health or life, 

       except to spend them for You, with You, and in You.

  You alone know what is good for me; 

       do, therefore, whatever seems best to You.

Give to me, or take from me. 

Conform my will to Yours.

Grant that with humble and perfect submission, 

and in holy confidence, I may receive the orders 

of Your eternal Providence; and may equally adore 

all that comes from You; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen."

In His Service, Pastor Jeff 

Did God Answer?

Greetings All,

Today's "thought" comes from a book entitled "The One Year Book of Christian History." It contains 365 separate devotionals or what the authors E. Michael Rusten and Sharon Rusten call "daily glimpse's into God's powerful work."

As one who loves history, I have gone through it and returned to it time and again. Each devotion or historical glimpse references something that happened on that particular day in history. Today's thought is from January 18 and references the death of Amy Carmichael, the well known missionary to India who ministered there without ever once returning home to her native Ireland or teenage home, England, from 1895 until the day she died -- Jan. 18, 1951.

If you would like to read more about this amazing woman, Elisabeth Elliot's biography of her life, entitled "A Chance to Die -- The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael," is superb reading. The title of this entry is "You Never Know How God Will Answer (Prayer)." Hopefully it will give you food for thought! Enjoy.

"Amy Carmichael was born in 1867 in Millisle, County Down, Northern Ireland. At the tender age of twelve, she was sent to a Wesleyan Methodist boarding school in Yorkshire, England. There at age fifteen, during a children's service, she heard the song "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." In the quiet moments following the song, Amy realized that in spite of her mother's teaching that Jesus loved her, she had never invited him into her life. 'In His great mercy the Good Shepherd answered the prayers of my mother and my father and many other loving ones, and drew me, even me, into his fold'...

Amy became interested in missions, and in 1893 she sailed for Japan as the first Keswick missionary with the Church Missionary Society. After spending less than two years in Japan and Ceylon, she was forced to return to England because of poor health.

In November 1895 Amy again left England to work with the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society in South India. Traveling on evangelistic trips throughout India, she became aware that many young Indian girls were offered by their parents or guardians as temple prostitutes -- a practice later outlawed. Touched by their plight, Amy began rescuing young girls from this fate.

By 1901 she, along with the Indian colleagues and converts from her many trips, settled in Dohnavur. In 1926 she founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, a home and school for rescued children. Here the Indian children were educated and trained to serve God as Christian nurses, teachers, and evangelists... So committed was Amy Carmichael to India that from the time she arrived in November 1895, she never returned to England.

On October 24, 1931, Amy visited a Dohnavur dispensary and was concerned about the Fellowship's financial support. Seeking guidance* regarding money, she fell silent for a long time and then prayed: 'Do anything, Lord, that will fit me to serve Thee and to help my beloveds.'

Later that same day she was driven to a house she had rented for another dispensary. There in the darkness she fell into a newly dug pit, breaking her leg, dislocating her ankle, and twisting her spine. As a result of her fall, she was bedridden the last twenty years of her life. Yet from her bed she remained in charge of Dohnavur and also wrote prose and poetry through which the work of Dohnavur became known around the world.

In 1938 Carmichael believed God gave her a promise that she would die in her sleep. This she did on January 18, 1951."

The implictions drawn from this story are too stark to overlook: The same day she prayed, she was injured, and the books she now had the time to write helped make the work "known around the world" and brought in the financial support she had gone before God praying for.

Dare we ask, then, the question that can't help but arise: "If the injury led to the answer of her prayer, could it be that her fall was the way God answered?" Do you think Mr. Rusten is right when he implies in the title of this entry that it was God's answer? ("You Never Know How God Will Answer.")

Your own answers will likely vary from God's sovereignty, to fate, to chance, to coincidence. Some might throw in bad luck. What about you? What do you say? The answer you choose will likely depend on your view of God, how he works in providence, his love and wisdom, and your understanding of biblical truth in general. Yet it is worth contemplating. Are things random, or is there a sovereign God who oversees them? And if he does oversee them, then to what extent does he do so, and in what ways?

In the Bonds of Christian Fellowship, Pastor Jeff

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* One last insight to be gained from Amy Carmichael is her well known steps for discerning God's will or guidance in her life. They are as follows:

1.) The Word of the Lord in the Bible.

2.) The Word of the Spirit in our heart.

3.) The circumsatnces of our lives, which have been arranged by God.

All three must point one way. It is never enough for any two of them to agree, in order for it to be taken as showing God's will. If the voice is God's, all three will agree."