God's Providence

God always ignores the present perfection for the ultimate perfection. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy just now; He is working out His ultimate perfection all the time – ‘that they may be even as we are.’” – My Utmost for His Highest, April 27^th

Isn't it amazing how God gives us exactly what we need exactly when we need it or tells us exactly what we need to hear exactly when we need to hear it?

He does not give us comfort to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.

Often times in the midst of our crisis, in our humanness we can't understand why we go through situations or why we experience pain and suffering, but in the end we can look back and see God's hand at work. And then someone close to us has a similar experience and we are able to pass along the lessons we learned and hopefully provide some comfort or at least be able to say with confidence that God loves us and has it all under control.

Most of you know that my job has been incredibly frustrating lately and I'm going through the "what do I want to do with my life" and "where am I going" phase.

Here is an excerpt from World Intercessors from November of 1982 that came in the mail to my mom when my dad had been out of a job for six months. It showed up on my doorstep this week the same day that without warning they called people into the office at my work and let them go (side note: I wasn't one of them).

No Tears Tomorrow

Stooped by the dwindling brook, Elijah was face to face with famine (1 Kings 17). No dew or rain were to be in sight the next few years, and it was excruciating to scoop up the last drops of water. Was God’s providence really working for him at Cherith?

When do we say, “How providential!”? Is it when someone we love has been spared, a prayer is answered, a wish granted, an undertaking completed, a desperate need met? Or is providence another word for getting what we ask for, and being able to complete our plans?

It’s easier to recognize the love that give than the one that takes. In the education of faith we learn of a providence of loss, a ministry of fading and failing things, a gift of emptiness. A desperate situation can change into a notable blessing when we reach the end of our resources and meet God at the beginning of His.

Elijah’s account pictures the progress of providence. Divinely led to Cherith, he was fed there for a time. But then the brook dried up. If he could have seen the widow’s cottage at Zarephath with the oil and meal that wouldn't fail, he would have no test.

However, in the precious paradox of providence God builds the final success on the basis of temporary failure. There are things we don’t learn until we walk in the borderland of need, until we watch a failing brook in a famished land.

Had he walked straight the Zarephath we would be without the description of his prayer of faith: “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:17,18).

What light does Elijah’s story cast on our experiences? Many of us have been or are at Cherith and a waterless brook. A loss of job, sorrow, disappointment, loneliness, dilemmas, weakness, frustrations in relationships – all create turmoil and hurt. Our outlook brightens, however, if we understand that God leads us through hard places; He doesn't keep us there. They are merely stages of the journey; and tomorrow will explain today.

All of us can say, “The Lord gave.” Some of us must add, “And the Lord has taken away.” If faithful and patient, however, we’ll someday find that He has given double for all the losses.

Whatever your stance in life, have faith in God, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. Whether His providence is obscure or clear, it’s always operative, full of love, and right in the end. The tears of life belong to the interlude, not the finale.

--Alice Huff, November 1982

Even when I don’t understand it or I get frustrated or I want to know why right now instead of waiting patiently, God has got it all under control and it may not be for me to know (Abraham had thirteen years of silence and I can’t stand five minutes without a huge neon sign telling me which direction I should go). Who am I to question the Almighty God of the Universe?

Isaiah 40:12-14

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
¹³ Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,
or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
¹⁴ Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?

Isaiah 55:8-9:

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 40:11

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Ephesians 6:10

Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power

Some day I'll be able to look back at my current situation and see the why, but for the moment, I need to learn to trust.

In the meantime, I am incredibly thankful that I have a job and I have people in my life who can remind me of the Sovereignty of God when I need it most.