God is in control! There’s an active effort by Him to make all things work together for our good!
Highlights of PART 1 - The CONCEPT OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Rom 8:28)
Providence can be said to mean the foreseeing care and guidance of God over the creatures of the earth and human affairs. In other words, it is God’s wise directing of the affairs of the earth. The closest word to ‘Providence’ is ‘provision’, means to take care of something; to see to something. The concept simply means that God in His divine benevolence in control of the affairs of the earth.
The concept of divine providence is one of the fundamental concepts lost in Christianity. Paul, affirmed the concept of providence as something commonly held amongst them, a firm conviction, assurance or confidence that God was in control of affairs and worked [good or bad] all things together for their good! This is encapsulated in Rom 8:28 –31, and was even summed up in their greeting –“GOD FOR US”.
A distortion has gained momentum in the world on the issue of control, sadly perpetuated by the faith movement and others in charismatic circles. Three possible spheres of control: [1] YOU in control; OR [2] Nothing in control - and that things happen by CHANCE, ACCIDENT, or LUCK, OR [3] God is in control. These three are mutually exclusive – if one is true, the other two are false. The biblical view from the story of Joseph and all that happened to Him is that God is control. The series of events that happened to Him, which eventually culminated in the preservation of the nation of Israel, from whom the Messiah came, admits no other conclusion than that God is in control – the unseen Hand orchestrating all things.
There is nothing that takes place on the earth aside God’s control. If anything can operate outside His control, then He is not God. Even if people are unwilling to ascribe to God this control, because of the disasters and evil that occur in the world, none can dare say that He had no power to prevent them. So in such circumstances, it can be concluded that he permitted it. The reasons may be incomprehensible to humanity, but nonetheless, his control is indisputable.
Everything you are, have, your family, advancement, progress in life, achievements, you owe it to God’s providence, not your intellect, hardwork, wisdom, or power, since there are many that are better than you in these qualities, and yet may not have the same achievements or success.
This concept is first seen in the story of Abraham in Gen 22, when God asked him to take his only son Isaac for sacrifice. Abraham was sure of the provision of God when his son asked him for the sheep for the burnt sacrifice Gen 22:7-8. From that episode, the word JEHOVAH JIREH emerged, which is popularly said to mean GOD OUR PROVIDER. But the original meaning of JIREH is ‘see’. So the concept of JEHOVAH JIREH means God would decide and see to the issue based on His determination and foreknowledge. God sees to the situation irrespective of you; God taking care of the situation even before you find yourself there!
2 Concepts that illustrate this are: The concept of sustenance of creation; and the concept of concurrence.
The concept of sustenance of creation -The Hebrew word for creation is ‘bara’, and it means to create and preserve. God creates and preserves what He creates. God didn’t just create the earth, He created it and He sustains it. The earth keeps revolving round the Sun because of this, because He is in control. God put gravity their within the context of His plan. It illustrative of God’s providence that He sustains whatsoever He creates [ Philippians 1:6, Acts 17:25-28]
The concept of concurrence - We as human beings have a free will and make our decisions based on that. However, the things we do based on our seemingly free will fall in line with God’s plan. It’s like two rivers coming from two different directions, meeting at a point, and from there going in the same direction. This explains the concept of concurrence. Even your sins, mistakes, wrong decisions and choices, may attract consequences, but do not ultimate frustrate God’s purpose and plan. Judas betrayal of Jesus did not. The Jews killing of Jesus did not – it all fell in line with God’s set purpose [Acts 2:23,4:28,13:27
These two foregoing concepts are vital in understanding the concept of providence i.e God ultimately being in control and constantly working out all things for our good. The system of the world today has tried to replace the knowledge of God with chance. But there’s nothing like chance in the dealings of God! Chance is a probability, a mathematical concept and doesn’t have power to do anything! Nothing happens outside of God’s control. You are not in control. You do not determine what happens to your life. In whatever situation you are, find out the reason why God will have you be in that situation and make the best of it.
The concept of providence is fundamental to us as believers and we must therefore imbibe it. As we live our lives, we must know that God is ultimately in control and that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose!
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