Ask Pastor Mitchell: God's Providence

Last week someone asked me, "How does God see everything, know everything, plan everything, and allow the pain and problems of my life and our world?" Below is a framework to help  process the mysterious blessing of God's providence.

First Things First: When we reject God's providence we seek to shrink God down to something we understand. This  breaks the second commandment, remaking God into an image we can manage by removing the mystery of His divinity. Leaders such as John Mark Comer margin out the majesty of God's timeless eternality when they address God's providence with hostility to Christian history (This article helpfully addresses Comer’s  position).  God is eternal, existing outside of time, and the reality of His providence is designed to give strength and security to saints living in a world of pain and problems. 

Providence and God
The Latin root to our English word “providence” literally means to see (vidēre, the same root word as “video”) before (pro-), simply defined as “to foresee, look ahead.” The Bible teaches that God foresees everything before, but the word “providence” applied to God means much more. “By His wise and most holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free immutable counsel of His own will” (WCF 5.1), God preserves all of His creatures, works through all creation, and directs all things for His appointed end.  This is true for the tiniest of creatures:
 
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matthew 10:29)
 
The toughest family situations and global tragedies:
 
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20, Joseph speaking in a global famine, to his brothers who sold him into slavery)
 
God's providence applies to seemingly insignificant details of our life. Consider:
 
“The book of Esther, where God’s name is never mentioned, but everything from a beauty contest (Esther 2:18) to insomnia (Esther 6:1-3) serve to advance God’s purposes.” (Kevin DeYoung, Daily Doctrine, p 96)
 
God is the creator of the world, and He “upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures, actions, and things” (WCF 5.1), clearly described in the Bible  as God
 
“… working all things according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11)

 God is not the author of evil and He cannot sin:
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13)
 
Our fallen world is spoiled by Adam’s choice to sin against God, and until Jesus returns in glory, the wicked will prosper and the saved will struggle in sanctification:
“For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (Psalm 73:3)

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”  (Hebrews 10:14)
 
Mysteriously, God foresaw and allows the choice of our personal sins as well as the most detestable deeds in human history (the climax of which is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ- see Acts 4:27-30). Yet God does so without destroying the integrity of human liberty or His holy character. This means humans are responsible for our sin and that God is not the author of evil (and He cannot sin).
 
In a nutshell....
In the first Church sermon after Pentecost, Peter attributes Jesus’ crucifixion to God’s definite plan and foreknowledge while maintaining total responsibility from human choice and action:

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23 ).
 
This means there is mystery where we, like Joseph’s brothers, freely choose to sin against our brothers and against God… but somehow we do so according to the will of God (read Genesis 37-50). The Bible acknowledges both God's sovereign providence and human responsibility without feeling the need to bring clarity to the mystery. Seeing this reality should make human decisions MORE significant, not less. 
 
“Therefore, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " (1 John 1:9)
 
Providence and God's People
All these truths stand together: God sovereignly rules every detail of life through His providence; human beings freely yet sinfully choose their own way; evil is real; and through even human sin and the brokenness of a fallen world, God works all things according to His holy and glorious purpose.

Kevin DeYoung says it well:
“God is God because He has the power to do what He wants, the wisdom to carry it out, and the sovereign authority to immutably appoint whatsoever shall come to pass.” (Kevin DeYoung, p 97). 
 
Scripture says it better:
“… for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose…” (Isaiah 46:9-10)
 
What does all of this mean for my life and leadership? (At Least) five things:

1. Worship. God is king of everything, and this should make our heart sing (Psalm 104:24).
2. God’s “providence” is “pro”- His people. God is working “all things” for the good of His people and the glory of His name (Romans 8:28-32).
3. You can (and must) have security in God and His sovereign plan, during seasons of pain and problems as well as times of plenty and prosperity. Peace, security, humility, and hope mark the person who is persuaded by God’s providence. 
4. God’s providence fuels Christian faithfulness both personally and practically. Personally, we must align our choices with God’s revealed will (Proverbs 3:5-6). Practically, we seek first God and His kingdom as we trust He will provide all we need (Matthew 6:33). All of what we do in Jesus’ name is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Likewise, we must embrace extreme ownership for our sinful choices.
5. God has revealed the culmination of history in the consummation of His kingdom (Revelation 21-22). We know where the story is going, so we must work to bring the realities of His will for redemptive history to every moment of our life.