In his post last week, Pastor Tom took us through the wondrous truth of how God’s decrees are worked out in creation. It is a glorious truth that we continue to see displayed before us each day if we would but take a moment and look around us. However, some have wanted to stop the discussion there. They affirm that God got things started and put in place the laws of nature to keep things running but otherwise is now distant from His creation. This is the God of the Deists.
Yet, the Bible makes it clear that our God is intimately involved in what is happening in this world and in our lives. Hebrews 1:3 states that God is “upholding all things by the word of His power”. The verb tense indicates that this is an on-going, continuous work that God is doing. The implication is that if God were to withdraw His hand for even one millisecond, the creation wouldn’t keep running but everything in it would cease to exist. That is how significant God’s involvement is in this world and it covers every part of the creation, including us. The word often used for this continual care is providence.
Q. 11 What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.
As when we discussed God’s decrees, thinking about God’s providence raises questions that aren’t always resolved in the Scriptures. In fact, there are tensions at the heart of our faith that if we seek to get rid of the tension would actually lead to us losing the faith. This includes foundational doctrines such as the Trinity (one God/three persons) and the person of Christ (fully God/fully man). Many of the heresies the Church has faced over the centuries occurred due to over-emphasizing one side of a tension over the other. Regarding providence, we see this in the Bible’s affirmation of both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.
So, what does the catechism teach us regarding providence?
1. The quality of God’s works of providence. Providence is holy, which means it is perfect and perfectly in accord with God’s will. It is wise, the best way of achieving God’s purposes. And it is powerful, in such a way that nothing can prevent it from happening.
2. The nature of this providence. It is worked out in two facets. There is the preserving or safeguarding of creation. Nothing can take our life or harm us except under the Lord’s hand. The Lord has numbered our days and they will not end one second early or one second late. There is also the governing aspect of providence which asserts the ultimate rule of God, even over lesser rulers and authorities.
3. The extent of God’s providence. Abraham Kuyper is said to have asserted that there is not one area in all of creation over which God doesn’t declare, “Mine!” All creatures and all their actions fall under God’s preserving and governing. There are no random actors on the stage of history that are truly autonomous, not even the devil.
Now, the point of meditating on God’s providence (as with consideration of His decrees) is not simply to fill our heads. Even what knowledge we glean often only leads to more questions. The reason God sets forth these truths is for our comfort and assurance. To know that He has drawn near to us. To rest in the reality that He will never leave us or forsake us. To face our trials and tribulations with confidence that they are not random acts of chance or forces of evil run wild. And to experience the actual peace and comfort of knowing that even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death (which is actually all of life), there is no need to fear because the one who rules over and has conquered death, is with us and His rod and staff will comfort us.
Saints, God is not distant from you. He has drawn near in His Son and He is near to you now in the Spirit who indwells you. Let not God’s providence, even the frowning, hard parts of it, be a stumbling block to your soul. Instead, let it be a place of rest and comfort for us as we travel together in the midst of the wilderness of this life towards the promised land which awaits.
