Behold Your God — Providence / Sovereignty
Providence relates to God’s plan and interaction with His creation. Divine providence is associated with God’s sovereignty, foreknowledge, will, and good and evil. Providence essentially means the “foresight or provision of God beforehand.” This is directly related to God’s sovereign control of all things. Both of these are essential parts of His divine being and the exercise of His nature. It is inconceivable that God would indeed be the Almighty Creator if He was not in control of His creation and all events related to it. Consider the power of His word in how the holy and transcendent God created all things. His holiness refers to God being separate, above and beyond all things. Transcendent takes His being beyond or above and demonstrates that God is not subject to the limitations of the material universe or His creations. His power is related to the Lord’s omniscience (knowledge) and presence (omnipresence). It is impossible for the Lord God to achieve the creation of all things without the exercise of His providence and sovereignty. Because God is eternal in His being and knows all things (omniscience), the exercise of His providence and sovereignty is not inconceivable. When we survey the various attributes of God’s nature, it becomes obvious that the Lord our God is far above His creation in every aspect of His being and work. As we consider His providence and sovereignty, we rejoice and celebrate in the fact that the Lord our God is watching over His creation and is especially attentive to His saints.
Romans 8:28 NKJV And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
The only way this can be true is if God is providentially and sovereignly in control. God in all of His power, wisdom, and presence is watching over us with loving kindness and tender mercies.
Psalm 33:18-19 AMP Behold, the Lord’s eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
There are many references in the Bible to God’s watching over and giving governing care for all of His creatures.
Proverbs 5:21 NKJV For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths.
Proverbs 15:3 NKJV The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Psalm 34:15 NKJV The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
1 Peter 3:12 NKJV For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
God’s governance is the overall complex system or framework of His relationship and interaction with His creation. When the Psalmist said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” he is referring to God’s providential care over His people.
Matthew 10:29-30 NKJV Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Matthew 6:26-27 NKJV Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
Matthew 6:28-29 NKJV “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew 6:30-31 NKJV Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
We are confident that Jehovah God has been in control from before the beginning of creation.
Think about the implications of God’s care and control. Once again, it is impossible to have the creation of all things without God’s providence and sovereignty. He not only called all things into existence by the power of His word, in Him all things consist.
Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
The word “consist” means “to bring together or hold together something in its proper or appropriate place, to hold together.” Without God’s providence, power and sovereignty, all things would fall apart. Everything about the success of your life is dependent on God’s interaction with His creation. We believe that all things in heaven and in earth and in all creation are sustained and governed by the providence of the eternal and omnipotent God. In the beginning when God said, “Let there be…” His Word incorporated His sovereign power and divine providence. In His wisdom and knowledge, God is in control. We see this in every area of the universe.
Consider the providence and sovereignty of God in relation to the events of your life.
The Apostle Paul was sailing under the providence of God. Earlier in his life, he was assured by God that he would bear witness of Christ in Rome. After he was arrested and was being taken to Caesar in Rome, the ship he was traveling in was caught in a severe storm. Everyone was terrified and all hope that they would be saved was lost. During one of the stormy nights, an angel of God came and told Paul, “Do not be afraid, you must be brought before Caesar, and indeed God has given you all those who are sailing with you.” It is easy to fall into fear in the midst of our storms and distresses. We must hold on to God’s promises in the midst of our storm. On the fourteenth day after continued beating by the storm, the ship struck ground and was broken in pieces. Although the ship was destroyed, all 276 souls escaped safely to land, (Acts 27). It is important for to know that we are not cast upon fate or luck, the Lord our God is in control.
The Lord our God presides over all things.
Watch this throughout the Bible.
- Noah found safety in the ark because God was in control.
- Before Abram and Sarai had a child, God informed him of His plan to bless him and his descendants.
- It was hundreds of years before it happened when God told Abram that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs.
- He said they would serve them, and would be afflicted for four hundred years, and then God would judge the nation they served and His people would come out with great possessions, (Genesis 15:12).
- God delivered Israel from famine through Joseph’s slavery and ultimate prominence in Egypt, (Genesis 37-47).
- The plan that God had shown Abram was carried out through individuals God appointed and called.
- Moses was saved from certain death in the Nile River, because God is in control.
- The Exodus and the travels across the Red Sea and the wilderness were achieved by God’s providence.
- When King Saul rejected God, the Lord chose David, anointed him to be king, and protected him from Saul’s relentless murderous attempts, (1 Samuel 19-31).
- God chose leaders like Moses, Joshua, Saul, and David.
- He sent prophets like Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
- He called and anointed judges over Israel who led God’s people into victories over their enemies.
- God sent His angels to minister, assist and take charge of His people, (Psalms 91:11).
- Repeatedly, God rescued and delivered His people from certain annihilation and the plans of the wicked.
The New Testament demonstrates the loving providence and sovereign power of God’s care in providing a Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Christ’s incarnation is a manifestation of God’s intervention and interaction with His creation in order to rescue it from sin and restore people to Himself. His love appears in every detail of Christ’s incarnation. Messianic prophecies foretold what would happen and in God’s providence and sovereignty everything came to pass. In her old age, Elizabeth was told that she would have a child and that her son John would make ready a people prepared for the Lord, (Luke 1:11-25). God’s providential love and care was demonstrated in the pregnancies of both Elizabeth and Mary. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, His exile to Egypt, life in Nazareth, anointing with the Holy Spirit, miracles, words and sacrificial death show God’s providential love and care, (John 3:16; Galatians 4:4). Jesus testified of the fact that He was living, ministering and doing miracles under the Father’s assignment and care. He knew that no one would be able to interrupt the plans that had been made. His life, death, and resurrection were assured by God’s providential care.
During His ministry, Jesus affirmed God’s providential care when He spoke of how the Father values you.
Then He said, “even the hairs on your heads are numbered by God,” (Matthew 10:29-31).
Our ultimate quest in life is for someone who is greater than we are who is able to help us in our moments of crisis.
It is not enough to know that there is a God somewhere out there Who could help us. We need to know that God will help us and that He is not uncaring and unfeeling. The Lord God Almighty is in charge and we can go to Him and get the help we need for our times of trouble. The providence and sovereignty of God addresses all of our needs.
The word providence has a prefix, pro- which means “before” or “in front of,” and the root of providence is “videre” which means, “to see.”
Providence literally means “to see beforehand.” God sees and is prepared for every contingency of your life. God’s foreknowledge is different from His providence. Foreknowledge means the Lord can see everything before it begins, but in providence God is involved in every detail of His universe. There is nothing more comforting than knowing that there is a God in heaven Who not only knows all of my transgressions, weaknesses, and need but has made provision so that I may be saved from my sins, strengthened, and helped. He is mindful of all of my tears, aches, and fears and I can fully trust Him in every aspect and phase of my life.
Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Psalm 62:8 NKJV Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Psalm 91:2 NKJV I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Psalm 3:5 NKJV I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
You can fully trust the Lord your God. The Lord Jehovah is not only watching you, He is a very present help in the time of your troubles.
