Our Response to God’s Providence

You’ve heard that old cliché, “It could be worse!” It’s not a phrase we like to hear. The words can sound terribly trite and empty at times. But it’s true. Things truly could be much worse for all of us. Picture God holding up his hands like the flood-control locks on a canal, holding back a dark tidal wave of suffering and harm. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, ”The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” The arms of our mighty God shield us. He is our refuge and protector from evil. Were it not for the influence of the Spirit of Christ in this world, we would see much more calamity, violence, natural catastrophes, war, and crime. Most of all, thank God we don’t get the sentence of death we deserve for our sins, but rather the rescue and salvation he so freely offered to us in his Son!

Are you experiencing hardship today? God promises that absolutely nothing will penetrate his sheltering hands to touch you except that which has been weighed and measured, so as to not ultimately harm you. And when troubles do encroach on your life, God promises to flood you with his sustaining grace as you trust in him.

Little wonder God’s Word tells us to cultivate a fear of the Lord (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7). A proper fear begins with understanding how big God really is.

Though our world can be a dark and sorrowful place at times, we can experience our Father’s goodness in the simple pleasures of a rainbow burning against a dark sky, a honeybee exploring a daffodil, the soft morning sunlight, a cup of cocoa by a fire on a stormy night, the whisper of a summer wind in the pines, the companionship of a loved one, and the hope of a wondrous new dawn in our heavenly home, just around the corner.

Take a moment to think through the good in your life—the things and the people you love and value. Then spend some time thanking the one who sends us “every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17).

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