Trusting God's Providence

Photo image courtesy Pixabay.

The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
– Psalm 103:19

God alone is sovereign. This is true whether we are talking about our lives, our governments, or our world. It’s easy to believe this when our lives seem safe and secure— when we aren’t faced with impossible challenges, and dire consequences.

But shake our foundations and we start to tremble, to doubt, to cower in fear—unless we’ve built our foundations on the Rock of Our Salvation.

“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)

You and I are living in a world that feels as though its axis has become a tilt-a-whirl. The news seems to only grow darker, especially in recent history as God has called home several giants of the faith.

Didn’t He know how much we still need these mighty voices guiding us through the chaos? We feel like abandoned children, stumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch.

Just maybe that’s exactly what He wants. The darker the days, the more earnestly we search for the light.

We turn to God when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them. ~Charles C. West

I’ve never experienced an earthquake. I can’t imagine how terrifying that would be. Where I live, we’re more accustomed to tornados. And while they don’t cause the physical earth to shake, they can certainly make it spin in a way we are powerless to stop. They don’t shake our foundation; they rip us right off it in their deadly vortex.

But there is a foundation that can’t be shaken, and no wind can sweep us from. It is the Providence of our God, enthroned in heaven to rule over all.

When our world seems to shake us, it’s often so we will cling ever more tightly to the Rock of Our Salvation.

Or maybe it is to reveal to us that we’ve built our house on the sand (see Matthew 7:26) so we’ll long for and find that firm foundation that is Our Lord and Savior.

It may be a hard thing to accept that God in His providence allows us to go through trials and suffering. And I’d be lying if I always understood why He lets certain things happen.

But I would also be without hope if I didn’t trust in His Providence. The Providence that spoke the world into being and formed man from the dust. The Providence that sends down the rain, scatters the frost like ash, and gives wisdom and the peace that passes understanding. The Providence that established the laws of nature and the grace and mercy by which we are saved.

While a scriptural definition of providence points to God’s care for and sustaining of the world He created and all that is in it, the dictionary defines providence as making provision for the future.

And that is God’s Providence. The omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent wisdom of God promises us that no matter what we go through He is at work on our behalf.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

He has a plan and a purpose for our lives, even our suffering. He not only knows the future, but in His Providence He holds it.

And that is a source of great comfort as we ride out the shaking.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Where in your life are you feeling shaken?

2. What might this be revealing to you?

3. What are God’s promises to you in this?

4. How does understanding His Providence bring you comfort?