God's Purposes Prevail
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” – Acts 17:26 (NIV)
I had quit my teaching job to attend seminary and work part time on a church staff. We needed a second car, but with seminary tuition and my reduced salary, money was tight. Our teenage sons played football and basketball, and of course they needed transportation to and from practices. How would we manage with only one car? We prayed.
Then an uncle who was ill decided he would no longer drive and offered to give us his car. Free! After we stepped out in faith, God provided a gift for us at the exact time we needed it.
Scripture abounds with examples of God’s provision—God’s providence—for His people and for the course of history. God’s purposes prevail.
While the population of Athens, Greece, was about 10,000 people in the Apostle Paul’s day, there were statues of more than 30,000 gods in the city.* Paul noticed a statue to an unknown god, and introduced the Athenians to the true God who made the world. Paul told his audience:
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” – Acts 17:26 (NIV)
We may think we control our fate—and our choices certainly do affect our circumstances—but God achieves His overarching purposes in spite of mankind’s actions. That’s the providence of God.
The story of Joseph offers an example of how God overrules even evil to achieve His purposes.
Jealousy drove Joseph’s brothers to sell him to slave traders. He was taken from Canaan to Egypt where he was sold to Potiphar, one of Pharoah’s officials. After claiming he had violated her, Potiphar’s wife had Joseph thrown into prison where he languished for many years. However, after he accurately interpreted a dream for Pharoah, Joseph was elevated to a governmental position second in command only to Pharoah.
In time, his brothers faced Joseph to secure food for their families, and he forgave them for their cruelty.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” – Genesis 59:20 (NIV)
Through Joseph, God’s providence fed not only Joseph’s family but the nation of Egypt for seven years as a severe famine spread across the land.
As we look around our world today, we see many situations that violate the perfect will of God. But God is not asleep. His permissive will, which allows mankind to have free will, allows evil (sin) to have its day. However God knows all and His Sovereignty reigns supreme.
Our God is an awesome God who loves us and provides. God’s purposes prevail–regardless of man’s plans and actions.
*The Jeremiah Study Bible, (United States of America: Worthy Publishing, 2016) pg. 1512.
Questions for Reflection:
- What is one way God has provided for you when you had a need?
- Who are other Bible characters that God used to achieve His purposes?
