God's Active PROVIDENCE

Some feel that God after fashioning the world like a master clockmaker, has let it slowly unwind on its own. On the contrary, the Bible tells us that He continues to take care of all His creation as a Father cares for his little ones. Jesus himself said “If [that is how] God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown in to the fire, will he not much more clothe you . . . So do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow.” [Mat 6:30-34] When sending out the twelve disciples, Jesus gave them an assurance while also providing an eternal perspective. He assured them that nothing can happen outside the will of God. Jesus told them “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet none of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.” [Mat 10:29-31] We have record of several glorious promises in the Old Testament. “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”[Isa 46:4] “Whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.” [Zec 2:8] “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” [Isa 49:15, 16] “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” [Isa 43:2]

We might wonder then, “How come we find so much suffering!” The Bible tells us that this is so because the devil is the ‘God of this age’ [2 Cor.4:4] and that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” [I John 5:19] However, the devil cannot touch God’s children without His permission. When Pilate threatened Jesus saying, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize that I have power either to free you or crucify you", Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” [John 19:10, 11] We find the same principle in the case of Job. “Does Job fear God for nothing”, Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?” [Job 1:9] We find this in Peter’s case too. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” [Luke 22:31] We will do well to remember his parting comments during the Last Supper. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33] All the promises and the assurances that we looked at earlier all stand good. The God of Love who cares for us is also powerful to keep us safe in His care. No evil or suffering can thwart the purposes of God. He has said, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” [Isa 46:10]

I have heard Dr.Ravi Zacharias speak of a miraculous escape of an Eastern Airlines plane that took off from Miami to a resort destination. Suddenly, while it was cruising at 35,000 feet above the sea level, one of its engines lost power. Soon, the 2nd engine too lost power and the plane began to plummet down to the sea. A frightened pilot spoke on the microphone, “Ditching is inevitable”. As the plane was about to hit the waters, just a few feet about the sea, one of the engine started and the pilot was able to lift the plane to safety. I am sure the passengers onboard the flight and the pilots thanked God for the wondrous escape. However, our problem is that not all accidents are averted! And we struggle for an answer.

In his book “Disappointment with God”, Yancey records an account by a disappointed Richard of a Sunday evening church service. After the usual testimonies and praise, one report in particular rankled him. Earlier that week, a plane carrying nine missionaries had crashed in the Alaskan outback, killing all aboard. The pastor solemnly related the details and then introduced a church member who had survived an unrelated plane crash the same week. When the church member finished describing his narrow escape, the congregation responded, “Praise the Lord!” The pastor prayed, “Lord, we thank you for bringing our brother to safety and for having your guardian angels watch over him. And please be with the families of those who died in Alaska.” That prayer triggered revulsion, something like nausea, in Richard. “You can’t have it both ways”, he thought. “If God gets credit for the survivor, he should also get blamed for the casualties.”

Saint Augustine writes of God’s providence, “You give us many things when we pray for them, and whatever good we received before we prayed, we have received from you. We have received it so that we might afterwards know that we received it from you. I was never a drunkard but I have known drunkards who were made sober by you. It was from you that they who never were drunkards should never be so, and it was from you that they who were drunkards should not be so any longer. And it was by you that both might know from whom they came”. It is the same God who rescues on certain occasions while sustaining us or carrying us through the suffering on other occasions.

We see this contrast at several places in the Bible. In Acts 12, we find that the King Herod had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. While God allowed James to die, yet he sent an angel to rescue Peter. [Ver 3-17] In I Kings 19:20, we find Elijah praying “The Israelites have . . . put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left.” In Jer 26:23, of the two prophets who prophesied against king Jehoiakim, Uriah is struck down with a sword, but Jeremiah finds support so that he is not handed over to the people to be put to death. We can be absolutely sure that nothing, not even death can touch us, until God’s purpose in our life is fulfilled.

God does not always intervene in the way we want, but He has all along been intervening in line with his purpose. People often want God to be predictable. C.S.Lewis wrote of Pantheism in his book Miracles, “An ‘impersonal God’ – well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads – better still. A formless life-force surging through us; a vast power which we can tap – best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the chord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the Hunter, King, Husband – that’s quite another matter . . . People who have been dabbling in Man’s search for God suddenly draw back. . . . It is a sort of rubicon. One goes across, or not. But if one does . . . One may be in for anything”. Even Christians often think of God as a Genie. They want to be able to tap into His power to serve their ends. They do not want to submit to His will as their King, as the Church’s groom. When we intend to 'use' God rather than 'be used' as an instrument to serve God’s purpose, we are set for disappointment. On the other hand, if we submit to His purpose and have a close relationship with Him, we can trust Him even when God’s intervention does not come along the lines we expect. We will then be able to see how he carries us and sustains us.

Let me sum it up with a quote. In the words of Dr.Ravi Zacharias: "Faith is confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in his power, so that even when His power does not serve my end, my confidence is in Him because of who he is.”