In
one of his books, Robert J. Morgan tells the story of Barnabas Shaw, a British
missionary to South Africa. When Shaw arrived in Cape Town in 1815, intending
to preach the Gospel and plant a church, he found city officials hostile to his
efforts. Barnabas was banned from engaging in evangelistic work in the city.
Not
knowing what else to do, he bought a yoke of oxen and a cart, packed his
belongings, and headed into the countryside. One the twenty-seventh day of the
trip he camped for the night near a party of Hottentots (a name disparagingly
used to refer to the tribes of the Khoikhoi people) who were also traveling
through the region. The Hottentots explained they were traveling to Cape Town,
hoping to find a missionary to teach them the “Great Word.”
Morgan
notes, “Had either group started half a day earlier or later, they would not
have met. Had either traveled at a different speed or on a different road, they
would have missed each other. God ordained this encounter and His providence
led Barnabas Shaw to his appointed field”[1]
The
term “providence” is so often tossed around like a theological football, yet
hardly explained. We may understand it intuitively, but not know how to put the
doctrine into words. If we analyze the term etymologically, we find the Latin
words for “before” (pro) and “see” (vide). In its most basic sense, God’s providence
refers to His seeing something beforehand.
Providence
is the means by which God directs all things — both animate and inanimate, seen
and unseen, good and evil — toward a worthy purpose, which means His will must
finally prevail. As the psalmist said, "his kingdom rules over all"
(Psalm 103:19). In Ephesians 1:11 Paul tells us that God "works all things
after the counsel of his own will."
Make
no mistake about it, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” From the greatest
to the least, nothing is beyond the scope of His sovereign power and
providential care. He makes the rain fall, the sun shine, the stars twinkle—in
this and all other galaxies. He raises up people and kingdoms and He brings
down both. He numbers the hairs on our heads and determines the days of our
lives. In doing so, He weaves everything together into His design. Ultimately,
the tapestry of His handiwork will be something to behold!
“But
wait,” I hear someone say, “don’t you and I possess a will? We’re not robots,
are we?” R. C. Sproul addresses this well in Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: “We are creatures with a
will of our own. We make things happen. Yet the casual power we exert is
secondary. God’s providence stands over and above our actions. He works out His
will through the actions of human wills, without violating the freedom of those
human wills.”[2]
God’s sovereignty and man’s agency is mystery, but not a contradiction.
One
example is the remarkable providence of God is how baby Moses was protected and
preserved down the Nile River (Ex. 2). The love of Moses' mother was great, but
not greater than God's love for Moses. When Moses lay exposed in a basket,
among the reeds of the Nile, think of all the danger around him—swift currents,
hungry alligators, baking sun. Yet, the little basket was driven down the Nile
by the unseen rudder of God’s providence.
Then
God brought together a little baby's cry and a woman's heart when Pharaoh's
daughter went to bathe. That was no accident either. The Lord pinched little
Moses and he let out a yelp. The cry reached the heart of the princess, and God
used it to change the destiny of a people.
Providence
means that the hand of God is in the glove of human events. He is the coach who
calls the signals from the bench. God is the pilot at the wheel during the
night watch. As someone has said, "He makes great doors swing on little
hinges."
So,
take heart, my friend. God is in full control. Nothing is happening on earth
that brings a surprise to heaven. Nothing is outside the scope of His divine
radar screen as He guides us safely home. Things that seem altogether
confusing, without reason, unfair, even wrong, do indeed fit into the Father’s
providential plan. Nothing touches us that has not first passed through His
hands. -DM
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