10022021 Expansive Providence

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our sovereign God. God’s sovereignty is expressed through His providence in our lives and in our world. I have recently been reading an excellent book on God’s providence, Not By Chance, by Layton Talbert. In combination with my Bible reading, this has caused me to do some thinking on the subject.

My first thought is on the expansiveness of God’s providence. It requires an incredibly wise and powerful God to utilize specific situations of providence as widely as He does. As an example, I was thinking about how I came here to Lebanon, PA, ten years ago. I came to teach in our Christian school, but that lasted only one year. Out of financial necessity, the school incorporated an online component in order to cut payroll. As it turned out, that resource ended up not being suitable, and arrangements were quickly made to place trusted teachers back in the classroom instead. By this time, I already had another job, and the renewed position was only part-time. This put me out of teaching, probably permanently.

A lot of factors went into that situation. There was a changing global economy that had impact on multiple families in our school who were no longer able or willing to commit to Christian education. There was the cumulative effect of several years of similar issues. There were families who moved away. There were discussions and decisions by school board members, congregational input, and eventually a decision. There were the misrepresentations of the online company that created a situation of unwarranted confidence. Even in the immediate local context, there were many dozens of people involved in the process that resulted in my termination.

Here’s where my thinking takes me. I was actually a relatively minor player in all of that. The ramifications of finances were far more strongly related to the individual families that no longer continued in Christian education. The decisions regarding structure were far more strongly related to the school itself. God didn’t upset the global economy, nor did He oversee the exploration of online learning just so that He could put me out of my job/ministry. He was doing much more in relation to other people.

Nevertheless, God did intend those things to have specifically guided impact on my life. God can carefully organize and orchestrate events so that He has intended consequences and lessons even for the minor players in a situation. I wasn’t an afterthought or unintended consequence. I wasn’t a loose end that wasn’t considered. Through all of the bigger picture, God was also thinking of my small picture. He had ways to lead me and provide for me. He had lessons for me to learn and adaptations for my heart to make. He still was very concerned with how my heart would respond to Him and how I would accept and adjust and grow. This was true to such an extent that I could even be tempted to say that the situation was all about me – all intended for my growth. But what God did in my life through that situation was mirrored or expanded upon in the lives of many others.

How can God do that? How can He utilize a single event effectively and purposefully in the lives of multiple people and organizations all at the same time? Clearly, the answer is that God is amazing. The same concept would apply in this global pandemic. Is God’s intended work and impact global, national, local, or individual? The answer is “all of the above.” It boggles my mind to think that God is wise and powerful enough to do that – that He is so completely in control that He can work His purposes in untold large and small contexts throughout our world.

Globally, I believe He is endeavoring to get people’s attention, to call people to Himself. There are almost certainly components that are leading our world closer to the rapture and tribulation. God is working on national levels, as each country follows its own course and suffers its unique ramifications. Individual churches and ministries are affected by restrictions, by losses through death, by impact of illnesses, by differences of opinions that require grace. Families and individuals are impacted by many of the same components on a small scale.

God is masterfully working on all of these levels at the same time. Much of that is beyond the scope of my arena, but there is plenty for me to consider within my personal arena. Can I gracefully interact with friends, family members, and church members of diverse opinions? Will I be faithful to my church ministry? Will I absorb the increased pressures of life and work in a way that allows me to reflect a Christ-like spirit to those around me? Will I trust God for my personal health? Will I make decisions that are God-honoring, Bible-supported, and wisdom-influenced? If and when I face losses, will I have a Biblical mindset? As I endure the extended challenge, will I seek God as my refuge and strength? In short, will I emerge from this pandemic the same way I went in, will I be further removed from submission and godliness, or will I have learned and grown in the ways that God desires for me to learn and grow?

Yes, the pandemic is much bigger than just me. God is doing things on a scope that I cannot comprehend and where I have no influence. But at the same time, He is also orchestrating everything that impacts me personally. He desires to accomplish something in me through it all. His work is so precise that He knows exactly what is happening to me and what He desires to accomplish through it.

May God help each of us this week to accept and submit to His providential intervention in our lives. May we respond and grow according to His plan. In every area of life, may we have confidence that a sovereign God is carefully arranging every detail for His purposes and for our ultimate good.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA