The Providence of God

Last Sunday night Joan and I went to visit a church we have fellowshipped with for many years, and we went to hear an Evangelist I have known even longer. His topic was The Providence of God. He observed that the word "providence" literally means to foresee, not to supply. I respect the man, but I had to look for myself. In the English and the Latin he was right, but did it fly in Greek or Hebrew?  Was it the root of the concept of "Providence" God is trying to communicate to you and I through the Scripture?

In the Old Testament there are a few words that are translated "providence", but every one has a root meaning of "see". One point for the Evangelist. In the New Testament there are a few words as well, they start with the prefix "pro-", a good start. One follows "pro-" with a word meaning "see", the other follows "pro-" with a word meaning "think" or "know". So, put it all together and the concept flies. The concept of God's Providence is not one of God supplying all my needs, it is God seeing, knowing, my need ahead of time and then preparing a blessing that will meet my need.

Providence is not simply the all-sovereign God selling off a few of His cattle on the thousand hills to meet my urgent financial need. It is the omniscience of God knowing I will have the need and breeding a few head of cattle to be there when the need arises!

The next time you receive a providential answer to a need, prayed for or not, consider when the answer to that need was put in motion. I think you will often find God was preparing an answer to your need before you even knew the need would exist!

I have spent some time reviewing God's answers to our needs as we started our new ministry with IPM, and I have come to the conclusion God has been preparing solutions to needs I never knew would exist! God is still preparing answers to the needs I haven't yet seen.

Philippians 4:19 - "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." And He knows that need even before you do! What a great God we serve!

The Mystery Box

Charlie has the ability to think on his feet.  He has so much information in his brain that he can expound on almost any topic.  I’ve heard him discussing the differences in airplanes with pilots and various types of vessels with skippers.  He can hold his own in a political, economic, or religious discussion.  He can participate in topics ranging from wildlife to international affairs.  Unlike me, he doesn’t usually need the professionals to speak in lay terminology.

One day I told him about a “Mystery Bag” I had seen a former pastor use.  Each week a family took the Bag home, inserted a household object, and brought it to church and put it on the platform.  The pastor then opened the Bag and brought out the object.  Without knowing ahead of time what the object was, he used the item to teach a spiritual lesson.  Charlie decided he would try it, and a Sunday evening tradition was born.

At first, it was a big game to see who could stump the pastor.  Sometimes he had to ask for additional information about the object.  Occasionally he stalled, making comments about the object he held in his hands while his mind furiously sought for a spiritual lesson he could teach with it.  Through the years, we’ve seen many stuffed animals, toys, kitchen gadgets, and office supplies. 

On our last Sunday at West Hampden, two mystery items appeared.  One was brought in by a child who didn’t realize that someone else had already brought something.  Because it was our last Sunday, Charlie decided to take them both.  The first was a child’s storybook, and he used the story line to teach a message.  The second one he opened had two travel mugs inside, with a picture of children in our church and inscribed with these words, “We will be praying for you.”  He choked up and didn’t even try to come up with an object lesson for that one.  Instead, he thanked the children for their willingness to pray for us.

It is a mystery to me why God answers prayer.  It is an even bigger mystery to me that the great, big, wonderful God who made the universe would make a way for me to know Him and have a relationship with Him.  How thankful I am that my God doesn’t fit in any of my boxes.  I accept that much about Him is a mystery, but He's way too big for any box, even a theoretical one.

Beholding Beauty

The beauty that God places in front of me each day is amazing.  There are some places where I've lived where I look back on and say, “There was nothing particularly pretty about that area, but I loved living there.”  There are others where there were particular things that drew my eye and encouraged me to give thanks to God for putting me there.  That is the case with Searsport.

Taking the opportunity of a day off on Memorial Day, we walked from our trailer to downtown and down to the sea.   We found the park, the dock, and of course, the beach.  I took off my sandals and walked along the cobblestone beach, splashing in the shallow water, letting the bay's water lap at my ankles.  Dogs and people played with each other in the shallows, and shrieks of laughter filled the air.

In our current location, there is obvious beauty all around. From the flowers and the parks to the quaint seaside villages and the ocean vistas, I often find myself giving thanks to God for the natural beauty that surrounds me.  Yesterday I sat at my windows while a storm moved in and marvelled at the billowing cumulus clouds racing wispy cirrus clouds across the sky.  Big raindrops and tiny bits of hail pelted the window, and periodic lightning snaked through the dark clouds.  Not a day goes by that I don't marvel at God's natural world around us.


After the skies cleared, I wandered outside to enjoy the fresh air, the sunshine, and the flowers.  Tiny orange flowers hid beneath the towering white lilac bushes.  Butterflies and bees floated on the cool breeze and fluttered from flower to flower.  I went back into the trailer and grabbed a pair of scissors, anxious to infuse some natural perfume into the trailer.

I found myself singing.  I joined the psalmist in saying, " O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens."  How blessed I feel I am to know, worship, and love the Creator of our world.

This morning I saw three robins standing like sentries in the yard, peering over the blades of grass for a hint of movement that would become a tasty breakfast.  Earlier this week I awoke to the call of seagulls, a pleasant change from the cawing of the crows that awakened me in Hampden.  Everywhere I turn, God's beauty abounds.  And because of my forage into the yard yesterday with scissors, God's creative beauty and fragrance are inside the trailer too.