GOD OF PROVIDENCE AND PURPOSE

“But our God is in heaven: He does whatever He pleases” – Psalm 115:3

We serve the GOD OF PROVIDENCE and PURPOSE: ““But our God is in heaven: He does whatever He pleases” (v.3). His Providence is His good pleasure, which propels His Purpose. Providence is the confidence of Purpose: that which guarantees that God’s Purpose is never thwarted! David declared: “I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfil His Purpose for me” (Psa.57:2 NLT). Two facts stand out from this verse: God has a purpose for me; and God will fulfil that purpose. Both truths sum up into the profound concept of “PROVIDENCE,” which captures God’s relationship to the created world; namely, that He both preserves the order of all things and guides them toward His intended end.

Providence is the sovereignty of God made palpable. Providence is the tangibility of God’s sovereignty. It is the outworking of His power and authority for His children in space and time, which means, in the things we schedule, the air we breathe, the moments we move. Providence is the assurance that “in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Providence is observed, experienced, and tasted. We may even say it’s the distinctively Christian term for reality. Since God is sovereign, and this world is His, then every moment, in a sense, is a moment of providence. Wherever you find yourself right now has come by the process of events He ordained or permitted.

God’s eternal intention for us who “are the called according to His purpose” is that we are conformed to the image of Jesus, having chosen us for this before the foundation of the world (Rom.8:28-30). Nothing ever bypasses God’s attention. All things submit to His sovereignty. Every past moment of your life – whatever it might have offered – has led to your now. Our experience of providence assures us that the present has been wondrously woven together by God. And because He is either behind or in the know of it all, we who are united to Christ by faith are confident in this: God’s providence never gets it wrong and will never let go.

It may seem as if certain events in our lives are not for our good, but providence, in its mysterious movements, steadies our feelings and compels our faith in God. His intentions and actions towards us – whether seen or unseen, painful or pleasant – are resolutely targeting our eternal joy: “You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psa.16:11). God doesn’t swing and miss. Every detail of our days comes through the blueprints of His meticulous care. And even when all hope seems lost, we have Him “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Rom.4:17).

Not only is God flawlessly at work for our good, but He has a resolute focus that never gives us until He’s finished. Whatever He commences He completes. Whatever He pioneers He perfects. His providence never dries up or fizzles out. It is always in action to accomplish His ordained purpose. His motions are irresistible and irrepressible. Everything He does is right, and it is all right until it’s done: “…He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?” (Dan.4:35).

God will complete what He began in us (Phil.1:6). There’s no stalling with Him. He doesn’t procrastinate. Even if we are innocently obtuse to His designs in the present, His providence is blaring full-throttle toward our Christlikeness, and His glory. Trust in Him as your Help and Shield (vv.9-11). God is mindful of you, and shall “give you increase more and more, You and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, Who made heaven and earth” (vv.12-14). Be encouraged, strengthened, and revived. By His providence, God is fulfilling His purpose in you and for you.