Providence
by John M. Frame
Most
Christians I know speak of providence when something happens to them that is both good and unusual. Someone appears to fix your tire,
and you reach your meeting exactly on time. When you fear you will miss your
rent payment, a check (for precisely the amount you need) arrives in the mail.
You pray for the healing of a loved one and shortly later you find a medical
treatment that succeeds when all else has failed. These things do happen, and
when they do the word “providence” often appears on our tongues.
So
providence becomes the Christian alternative to “luck.” When someone says “good
luck,” some Christians will remark that we do not believe in luck, only in
God’s providence. Luck is something impersonal, a kind of fate or chance.
Using
the word “providence” to describe special, coincidental divine blessings is
perfectly all right. We do experience these, and providence is as good a word
as any to describe them. But we should be aware that the theological definition
of providence is much broader than this. The definition of providence is, of
course, theological. The word is rarely if ever found in English translations
of the Bible, so the concept of providence is to some extent the work of
theologians. These theologians have grouped a number of biblical ideas under
providence, and it will help us to look at those ideas.
The
Westminster Shorter Catechism defines providence in the answer to question 11:
“God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving
and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.” First, notice that
God’s providence is universal. It
extends to all God’s creatures and all their actions. So Eph. 1:11 speaks of
God who “who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” It is
right for us to see God’s hand in the special blessings of life. But it is
important for us to see God’s hand in our trials, our pain and suffering, even
our own decisions. God’s loving hand operates in everything that happens to me
and in everything I do. So Paul calls us to be thankful in everything (1 Thess. 5:18).
We often hear that we should be thankful for God’s mercy in the midst of trouble. But it is harder to see God’s hand in our own sinful or unwise decisions. Let us recognize, however, that God’s hand of providence is in these decisions also. Remember that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery? Later he tells them, “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Gen. 45:5), and later, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). The brothers made a sinful decision. But that sinful decision was part of God’s providence, to keep the family of Jacob alive. The relationship between God’s providence and human sin is mysterious indeed. But it is always true that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). We should not thank God for sin, but we should thank him heartily for using even sin to further his good purposes.
The
Catechism also tells us that in providence God “preserves” and “governs.”
Government here is not so much a political metaphor as it is the idea of a
pilot steering a ship into port. When Heb. 1:3 says that Jesus “upholds the
universe by the word of his power,” the picture is not so much that of Atlas
holding the world on his shoulders, but of a relay racer carrying a baton to
the finish line. God’s government is a dynamic concept, one that gives
direction to nature and history. The world process is moving toward a goal, to
the fulfillment of all God’s purposes at the return of Christ. History is not
just one thing after another. It is a wonderful narrative, that will lead to a
fully satisfying (if sometimes surprising) conclusion.
“Preservation” is another aspect of providence mentioned in the Catechism. It means a number
of things: (1) God preserves the existence of the world. Without his permission
(and specifically that of Jesus Christ) it would fall apart (Col. 1:17).
(2) God also
preserves the world by postponing the final judgment until his purposes are
complete. So he promised Noah that he would not destroy the world by another
flood (Gen. 8:21-22). Until then, the days and seasons will succeed one another
in a regular way. One day, of course, there will be another disaster—this time
by fire (2 Pet. 3:7)—like the days of Noah, when God will come in final
judgment. In between the flood and the judgment, however, God
delays. Why? To give time to the church to preach the
Gospel all over the world, and to give opportunity for people to repent of
their sins and turn to Christ (2 Pet. 3:9).
(3) Preservation
also refers to the way God protects us from danger throughout our lives. As God
used the sin of Joseph’s brothers to provide food for them in
So providence turns out to be far more than we may have thought it was. Yes, God does give us little surprises through life, and that is a wonderful blessing of knowing him. But providence also extends to everything that happens. It spans all of time and all of space. It carries us from creation to eternity future. Such providence deserves our ecstatic praise: “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 106:1).