Joel Littlefield

Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
 

The Bible reveals to us a God of providence and sovereign authority over all things. Here are 9 truths to hold on to as we place our hope in a providential God.

• God has providentially placed us where He wants us for this season. There may be a change of seasons coming,  but there is a good work for us to do now, right where we are.

• Mistakes we make do not thwart God’s ultimate plans, so fretting over them is unhelpful, and standing still for fear of future ones is fruitless. Let faith in God overrule fear of messing up, and let’s trust that God will make up for our lack.

• God has foreordained the entirety of our lives. Our names are written in an eternal book. He can read our future as plainly as we can read history. Nothing surprises Him. So it is a joy to commit our future into the hands of Providence.

• If He’s sovereign over our own lives then He’s sovereign over all lives. This means that the people in our lives right now are there, too, by the hand of Providence. Let’s seek to be used in their lives for the glory of Christ.

• If all things are working together for good in the hands of Providence, then even our affliction and suffering is not wasted with God. He never promised us ease and comfort, but He did promise to never leave us or forsake us. Like Paul, we need to believe that the afflictions of this life are light and momentary in comparison to the weight of the glory to be revealed in the eternal presence of  Jesus.

• Believing a God of providence means believing every Word which Providence has spoken. The Word of God becomes more dear to us when we know every syllable of every text in holy Scripture has its divine ordination for our growth and exaltation of the glory of Christ.

• Providence reaches the big and small issues of life. The God who controls the spin of the galaxies also controls the details of our lives. We breathe because He loves us and lets us. Let us be more thankful in light of this control and surrender more to His meticulous care.

• God has set boundaries and borders for the nations of the world and on those who rule them. Every heart of every earthly king, prince and president is in the hands of the Lord. Even the corrupt king cannot move apart from God’s permitting him. So if He permits him, there’s a reason. Do not fret over these things.

• God, in His providence, has ordained the salvation of souls by the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has a people; predestined and chosen in Christ from before the foundations of the world.  John 6:39 “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” Believing in a God of providence strengthens the evangelist, the preacher, the one praying for his lost friend, because he knows Him who sees the end from the beginning and calls every sheep by name.

“You know that, in a wheel there is one portion that never turns round, that stands steadfast; and that is the axle. So in God’s Providence, there is an axle which never moves. Christian, here is a sweet thought for thee! Thy state is ever changing; sometimes thou art exalted, and sometimes depressed; yet there is an unmoving point in thy state. What is that axle? What is the pivot upon which all the machinery revolves? It is the axle of God’s everlasting love toward his covenant people. The exterior of the wheel is changing, but the center stands forever fixed. Other things may move; but God’s love never moves: it is the axle of the wheel; and this is another reason why Providence should be compared to a wheel.”
-Spurgeon, Sermon# 3114