Perhaps, the most famous passage in all of Scripture that comforts Believers of Divine Providence is arguably Romans 8:28, in which Paul encouragingly writes “God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God.” Someone recently shared on X/Twitter, “It’s so comforting to know that the God who governs the flutter of a butterfly’s wings is guiding the smallest details of my life.” Satisfaction with Divine Providence, is having faith that all things work together for good to them that love God. Nothing ultimately ever happens by coincidence or by chance or by accident, since God is truly sovereign and governs this universe and everything in it. “There is not one piece of cosmic dust that is outside the scope of God’s sovereign providence.” — R.C. Sproul. The invisible hand of God is sovereignly involved in every accident and tragedy we may ever experience. God determines the times and circumstances of our lives. Life unfolds according to Divine Providence right from our birth to our time of death.
“Providence is God’s ordering all issues and events of things, after the counsel of His will, to His own glory.” – Thomas Watson.
Nevertheless, one of the hardest things we face in reality in the Christian life is when we are suffering, when we are destitute, when we are in pain to really trust that God’s hand is in it. It is exceedingly difficult to hold firm in the confidence of our faith and in our belief that God is at work here for good. It so hard to put our trust in the promise of God’s presence (Psalm 23:4) when we cannot see it. We tend to struggle in the moment of crisis to trust the promises and wisdom of God every time our body or heart aches. The real test we face is to trust God in the care of His Divine Providence experientially. The very thing that we struggle with is our disappointment in our expectations in the providence of God. But, behind all our suffering and pain is the invisible hand of Divine Providence that is working all these things for our good. The providence of God is always enough. “God’s providence isn’t always obvious in the moment, but hindsight reveals His steady hand. Trust Him—He’s never late, never wrong, and never absent.” – Dustin Benge.
I must confess that one of my least favourite saying of the Lord Jesus is from the metaphor written in John 15:2, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” The first half of the verse is no real surprise, but the second half is because it is saying that our reward for faithfulness is pruning (difficulties, struggles, and problems) by God. In agriculture, pruning is a process often painful, but no less needful and beneficial. “It is surely no accident that the Bible’s symbol for joy is the wine that comes from crushed grapes. For there is a sense in which the sweetest graces are sometimes only crushed out of the believer.” – Sinclair B. Ferguson.
In 1 Peter 4:12-13, the apostle Peter encourages us not to be surprised by suffering but instead to adopt the mindset of Christ, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice and be very glad—for these trials make you partakers of Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also rejoice and be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
The very way of Redemption is by the Via Dolorosa (the sorrowful way), the path before the crown by which the Lord Jesus travelled on the day of His crucifixion to Calvary, where He was nailed to a tree, wounded, pierced, bled and died in darkness. In a sense, we are called to follow in His footsteps by the way of the Cross, the path before the crown where promised hope is found. “There are some dangers from which the Providence of God does not preserve the Lord’s people, but still he covers them with his feathers in another sense, by giving them grace to bear up under their troubles.” – Charles Spurgeon. The wilderness may be thick with danger, but it is also filled with unseen providence.
Experientially, life in general is often bittersweet. The things or people we expect to bring us happiness and joy may at times turn out to be sources of pain, sorrow, and disappointments. Dream jobs, marriages, and family relationships can become a source of frustrations and pain; places we move to in hopes to find happiness and peace may turn out to bring about misery and hostility; Best of friends and loved ones we look to and depend on may at times break their promises, betray us and desert us; the good health we’ve enjoyed for many years may at times fail us; the pregnancy that later ends in miscarriage; and so on… Although all these things may at times catch us off guard, they are not just mere random unfortunate circumstances, for it is written (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8):
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
- A time to be born, and a time to die;
- A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
- A time to kill, and a time to heal;
- A time to break down, and a time to build up;
- A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
- A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
- A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
- A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
- A time to get, and a time to lose;
- A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
- A time to rend, and a time to sew;
- A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
- A time to love, and a time to hate;
- A time of war, and a time of peace.
“To expect unchanging happiness in a changing world, must end in disappointment.” – Matthew Henry. At times, we tell ourselves that in order to be happy that the only way to be happy is to disobey God. But that is not true. There is pleasure in disobedience but never happiness. The fallen world we live in today is but a vale of tears where there are some deep wounds time cannot heal. And at times of great sorrow, there is a joy divine when we lean on the Everlasting Arms of the Unchanging One who is ever faithful to every one of His promises.
“There is no sweeter fellowship with Christ than to bring our wounds and our sores to him.” – Samuel Rutherford.
In the book of Exodus, the Bible tells of the plight of Israel under the heavy hand of the Egyptians who had enslaved them for over 400 years. Three days after God miraculous delivered Israel from their enslavement and led them through the Red Sea into the wilderness, the people started to grumble to their leader Moses (because there was no water to drink as the water in the wilderness was too bitter to drink). So, Moses cried unto the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log of tree, and Moses threw the log into the water, and thus the water became sweet [Exodus 15:22-25]. “Some make this tree typical of the cross of Christ, which sweetens the bitter waters of affliction of all the faithful, and enables them to rejoice in tribulation” – Matthew Henry.
The treasured classic hymn, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus” which has been a blessing to millions of people around the world for well over a century is a reminder of such sweetness that we can trust that the LORD is with us, and that He will be with us until the very end of our lives. Louisa M. R Stead [hymn writer] went on a trip to Long Island Sound with her husband and 4-year-old-daughter. During the trip, they heard the cries of a boy drowning. In an effort to save the boy, her husband dived into the water but sadly he was unable to save the boy and he himself drowned too. This devasting tragedy unfolded right before the helpless eyes of Louisa and her little daughter. Moving forward, Louisa faced much grief at the loss of her husband and financial hardship. Yet, despite all her pain and suffering, she could joyfully say:
In Christ Alone 