Just recently in our area we have seen an area in Mt. Juliet explode with new and exciting growth. This area is called "Providence." The slogan is "Live, Shop & Play: Setting a New Standard of Living in Middle Tennesee." People flock there from all around to shop, catch a movie, eat a nice dinner, etc... It PROVIDES everything that you need have a night out or live in comfort. Kinda like a relationship with God...?
The Lord says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13
What do you think of when you hear the word Providence? I think of the above mentioned verse and the idea or concept of God providing for you life. I also thing of the idea that bad times can’t last forever that God is always going to provide an outlet for those who trust and seek Him. The thing that sometimes slips my mind is that God is constantly or continuously hovering the earth, His kingdom seeking to preserve and bless His people.
Consider this: through His providence God controls the universe (Ps 103:19); the physical world (Matt 5:45); the affairs of nations (Ps 66:7); man's birth and destiny (Gal 1:15); man's successes and failures (Luke 1:52); and the protection of His people (Ps 4:8).
God preserves all things through His providence (1 Sam 2:9; Acts 17:28). Without His continual care and activity the world would not exist. God also preserves His people through His providence (Gen 28:15; Luke 21:18; 1 Cor 10:13; 1 Peter 3:12).
So what do we have to worry about if we serve a God who seeks constantly to shower His provision on His people? However, we have to keep in may the latter part of the scripture quoted from Jeremiah. We must be attentive or be drawn into words like “call, pray, seek and all your heart.” God wants to hear from us during the good and bad times of life. His plans or His providence cannot kick into effect unless we are seeking His will and calling on His name.
So remember no matter how dreary or blurry the future may look for you, God through His providence is seeking to bless and provide an outlet for you. Are you seeking Him with all your heart?
At the end of the day God is still God, and He is good!
1 comment:
Thanks for this post. It was very timely and thought provoking. I especially liked the last part where you said:
"So remember no matter how dreary or blurry the future may look for you, God through His providence is seeking to bless and provide an outlet for you. Are you seeking Him with all your heart?"
How often it is that we forget He is always there. Not only is he seeking to "provide blessings and an outlet," He is also preparing us to receive his blessings and to fill that outlet. Those trials and Tribulations and the rewards and triumphs along the way may well be like the process He describes through the Prophet Zechariah of proving who His People are:
Zechariah 13:7-9
7"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,"
declares the LORD of hosts.
"Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8In the whole land, declares the LORD,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
9And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, 'They are my people';
and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"
Too often we become downhearted. We moan and complain too much of our lot in life. Maybe we should just look up more often and thank the Master Artisian for his care in shaping us into His People. Let us raise our voices to say "The Lord is our God " as we move forward trusting in His Providence.
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