Posted on 05/16/2016 4:12:52 AM PDT by metmom
“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
We will be better prepared for what God teaches us through trials if we have a basic understanding of His providence.
I believe it is vital that all Christians have an essential awareness of God’s providence if they want to be fully prepared to cope with life’s adversity. Providence is how He orchestrates, through natural means and processes, all things necessary to accomplish His purposes in the world. It is the most frequent way He works and controls the daily course of human events. The only other means the Lord uses to intervene in the flow of history is miracles. But He does not perform miracles in the same way now as He did during the days of Christ, the apostles, and the prophets. However, God has continuously used providence from eternity past to coordinate the infinite variety of factors necessary to accomplish His perfect purpose.
Think about it. The vast scope and endless outworking of divine providence, in which God draws together millions of details and circumstances to achieve His will each day, is a far greater miracle than the relatively uncomplicated, one-time supernatural occurrences that we usually term miracles. Belief in God’s providence is, therefore, one of the greatest exercises of faith we can have and a major contributor to our general preparedness and peace of mind as we encounter trials and hardships.
Paul trusted wholeheartedly in the providence of God, no matter how easy or challenging life was (Phil. 4:11). Joseph the patriarch stated his confidence in providence this way: “You [his brothers] meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen. 50:20). Until we come to a similar acceptance of God’s providential control of everything, we will not fully realize the rich lessons He wants to teach us through trials, and we will not be able to apply the truth of Romans 8:28.
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank the Lord that His providence is always at work for your benefit. If this concept is new to you, ask Him to help you understand it better through His Word.
For Further Study
Read more about Joseph in Genesis 39—50. Jot down some of his positive character traits. What events in the narrative were possible only because of providence?
Studying God’s Word ping
Good stuff Metmom
It’s hard to reach that point and especially when everything seems to be careening out of control.
You wonder where God is in it all and it’s easy to fall into the trap of the enemy thinking that God is not in control, that He’s abandoned you, whatever.
And that’s where faith comes in. Some day we will walk by sight and that will be beyond what we can dream, but for now, we’re left operating on faith.
Romans 8:31.
While possessing a fallen nature, that walking by faith protects us from ... oh wait! There are folks who don’t want those sorts of things discussed on FR threads.
The seemingly random events therein reveal the pattern. In the not-too-distant future, the House of Joseph (the whole House of Israel, actually) will see a Divine rectification on an order so far beyond the crazy little tale out of Persia. Explains why the sages declared that Purim will be celebrated forever. Miracles, superceded by even greater miracles.
Many assume that the tribes of Israel morphed into Jews only over these many centuries, and because of that belief the vast display of Divine orchestration goes entirely unnoticed. The lives of the Patriarchs weren't merely historical events.
Israel didn't just blend together as Jews. The brothers will reunite in a proper, whole-hearted manner. That is, neither will be able to "one-up" the other.
Isaiah 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
The sad circumstance of Rachel dying in childbirth will make sense finally. When she gave birth to Joseph, she named him with a prophecy about having another son. Now on one level there was Benjamin, but truly she was looking far down the road. It was her eyes (vision) that attracted Jacob. Rachel died on the way to Ephrat. That is to say, on the way to fruitfulness, which is the *house of bread* (Bethlehem). Where does the wheat harvest end up? Right there. At the bakery.
The peculiar little story about the dudaim ("mandrakes") is not so odd. It's what Rachel saw in them, and the spiritual meaning [that Rachel understood] of Leah's willingness to part with a simple gift from her son. And it happened in the days of the wheat harvest. No detail is spared with this stuff. It's all about the mother, her spirit. Where did it go? Joseph's dream about the sun the moon, and the stars wasn't part nonsense. Rachel had already died, but she was in it.
The most basic, accepted traditions and expectations of both Jews and Christians will be sent off to the wind. Wwwufff, as a child blows on a dandelion ball.
Yet like in the story of Purim, the plot has been there all along. The cure was put in place before the disease. The solution ordered ahead of the problem, the mending established before the fracture. Etc.
Purim Part II. Watch for it. AKA where is America in Bible prophecy. Same place God is in the Megillah. It's the "revealing of the hidden": Megillat Esther, Tzaphnat Paaneach...
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