Mysterious, Merciful Providence

Saul was unaware of what was to take place. He was sent by his father to find lost donkeys. Yahweh, however, sent him to find Samuel (1 Samuel 9). This is the nature of providence, the term used to describe God’s continued involvement in and direction of all things. People go about doing what they do; yet it is God who stands behind them directing their steps (Cf. Proverbs 16:9).

If we trust that God is good and wise then we have reason to trust his providence.  He orders things according to his purposes so that his will, which is good and wise, comes to pass. This should be a source of comfort for this means that we are not subject to random, impersonal forces. Quite the contrary, all things, in the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, “come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.”

How are we to respond when we are subjected to what the Puritans called, “dark providences”? These are the times when difficulties -- tragedies, even -- disturb our peace. Are we to just grit our teeth and say, “Ah, the Lord’s will be done”? That’s an option, but it’s not our only option. Assuming that there is a wise and good purpose behind what is currently covering the sun, it’s our task to prayerfully experience what that purpose is. It may be that God would have us fight the darkness, and action, even bold action, may be called for. That being said, whatever his purpose, we are to trust that he is in control.

God is at work. God is always at work. Let’s pray for greater discernment that we might see the hand of the Lord in both the extraordinary and the mundane.

Self- Control

One of the evidences that the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in a person, that is, that he or she is converted, is one's ability to exercise self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). In fact, as Christ is being formed in us we can expect that his character traits become ours. This might seem an outrageous notion, but it appears to be what is expected of us.

How can this possibly come to pass? It seems a long journey from walking as a "child of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3) to walking as a child "of light" (Ephesians 5:8). In particular, how can we exercise the kind of self-control that Jesus exhibited when he was tempted, whether by the devil, Peter, or Pilate, to overthrow his mission? I suggested on Sunday evening that there are several important steps to exercising self-control.

The first is growing in the knowledge of God's will. Paul writes to the Ephesians "do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (5:17). The assumption is that when we know the will of God we will be better able to recognize sin for what it is and be less susceptible to its power. Secondly, we not only have to know the will of God but we must determine to follow it. But this is not an exercise in "doing our darndest" to walk the straight and narrow. A believer is one who has been united to Christ. It is he in us that will give us the strength we need to walk in the light. Next, we need to be in vital relationships with other believers. "Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21) is one of the means that God has provided for us to exercise self-control. Lastly, we are not to place ourselves in situations that cause us to stumble. Paul instructs, "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness" (Romans 6:13). I mean that just makes sense, doesn't it?
Self-control is not always easy to exercise. Sin is tempting because it is appealing and turning away from something that is appealing is easier said than done. That being said, pursuing it is our God-given goal, and with his help, a God-given possibility.

We Have No King but . . .

The Israelites' demand that Samuel make them a king (1 Samuel 8) was in and of itself not an evil request. Israel being ruled by a monarch had been anticipated in the covenant God made with Abraham, reiterated in the blessing of Jacob, and detailed in the Law of Moses. What made the demand offensive was the motivation and manner of the demand. They wanted to be "like all the nations" around them and they wanted it now.

But Israel was not like other nations. They were a chosen people who had as their sovereign the God who made heaven and earth. He was the one who had brought them out from the slavery of Egypt and into the land that he had promised to their forefather, Abraham. Throughout, Yahweh had exercised his rule over them by the people he had raised up and when it came time for the monarchy they were to await his selection. Their faithless and untimely demand for a king, however, showed once again how prone they were to being like the other nations around them (1 Samuel 8:8).

A warning is here. As Christians we confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9). Biblically, such a confession brings with it the expectation of otherness, as was upon the Israelites, as well as the need to be ruled by Christ, in all of his kingly sovereignty. As it did for the Israelites, this will demand faith and courage. The pressure to be like "the other nations" is great, particularly when our separateness brings with it strife. The solution, however, is not to slip into a posture that renders us indistinguishable from those around us. On the contrary, we are to hold fast to our confession without wavering (Hebrews 10:23), trusting that our Lord is able to protect us and cause us to prosper.