Bible Studies

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Providence
As Genesis 42 closed, Jacob was distraught that there was no food, Simeon was in jail, Benjamin was at risk, and Joseph was long gone. He thought things couldn’t get any worse. But they could get better. By the time Jacob’s family moved to Egypt, God’s great plan for His chosen people was obvious to all. The dreamer, the stranger who directed Joseph to his brothers, the pit, the Midianite traders, Potiphar and his wife, Pharaoh’s dreams, the famine plan, the prime minister, donkey-loads of grain, the divination cup, the offer, and the move: all these things were steps in a sequence which saved the chosen people from starvation and sequestered them safely. Look at what God used to bring about His will: relatives and strangers, good and bad weather, truth concealed and truth revealed, time, geography, the pit, the prison, and the palace.
God’s guidance of the flow of events and His sustenance of creation is called PROVIDENCE. God often works through secondary causes such as natural law or special messengers, such as angels. The intriguing aspect of providence is that God’s guidance is often not evident when it is intensely in motion. We can pray for a particular outcome, see nothing happening, and lose heart just as Jacob did, unaware that a plan had been in operation for years. Jesus beautifully described God’s close and loving care for us when He said “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one them falls to the ground apart from you Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29) Those who do not have the assurance of God’s providence have what? Random forces controlling events, every man for himself, assurance of no help in time of trouble, and lives empty of meaning. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “And we know that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28)

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