From the Pen of Paul

Examples of Providence in the Bible

Many years ago, before the turn of the century, the late J. W. McGarvey preached two great sermons on divine providence. The first sermon was about Joseph from the Old Testament. Near the end of his lesson, after telling in detail of the life of Joseph, he made the following statement in summary of this story:

"So then, this long story is told as an illustration of the providence of God, by which He can bring about His purposes...The great man who studies the story of Joesph and does not see this in it, has failed to see one of its great purposes. And what is true in bringing about this result in the family of Jacob, may be true—I venture to say, it is true—in regard to every family of any importance in this world; and it extends down to the modes by which God overrules our own acts, both good and bad, and those of our friends, and brings us out at the end of our lives shaped and molded as He desires we shall be."

Then later that same day, in the evening sermon, after he had told the story of Esther in detail, he added the following comments:

"A few days ago I stood in the great fair at Chicago, before a weaving machine—a wonder. There were coming out beneath the shuttles bands of silk about as wide as my hand, and perhaps a foot long, four or five coming out at one time at different parts of the loom, woven with the most beautiful figures in divers colors. One of them was 'Home Sweet Home' the words woven by that machine and above the words was the music. There was woven at the top a beautiful cottage, trees in the yard, bee-gums, and children at play, and down below the words and music, a lone man sat, with his face resting on his hand, thinking about that distant home. All coming out of that machine. The shuttles were flying, threads were twisting and dodging about, the machine was rattling, and no human hand on it, yet there the song, the pictures, the music, were coming out. Did they come out by accident? By an accidental combination of circumstances? I could not, to save my life, tell how it was done, but I saw a pattern hanging up at one side with many holes through it, and I was told that the pattern was ruling the work of that intricate machine, and leading to that result. I was bound to believe it. Now you could make me believe that this beautiful piece of work came out of the loom by accident, and without any man directing and planning it, just as easily as you can make me believe that the chain of circumstances, of facts, bringing about, in accordance with God's faithful promises, the deliverance of His people, was accomplished without Him. God was there, my brethren. And just as little can I believe that all those intricate circumstances in my life and yours, which shape and mold and direct and guide us until we are ripe and ready to be gathered into eternal harvest—that all this is human, or all blind force, or accident, and there is no hand of God in it."

You and I can fit into God's plan and receive His blessings (Eph. 1:3). It is not for the temporal things of this world that we need be concerned; rather, we need to be concerned that we be counted among the children of God (I John 3:1-3). It will not matter much in the day of judgment where we lived, how much we accumulated, what type of car or house we owned, etc. The only real concern in life is that we be among those who truly love God. This love for God and how it is shown is described by Jesus in John 14:15, 21, 23-24. We must remember that we live in God's world. He shapes the events of this world to suit His divine plan. If you and I are wise, we will obey His commandments in order that we may fit into that plan; that is the evidence of our love, trust, and respect for God. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). Let each of us believe, trust, and treasure this matchless promise from God!
—Paul Wilmoth