DAD'S RAMBLING -- THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

"Now while he (Jacob) was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess." (Genesis 29:9)

Have you ever had things happen that just seemed to be coincidences? Jacob had one of those times. He was running away from home for fear of his life at the hand of Esau. His father, Isaac, had told him to go Rebekah's family at Padan Aram to find a wife for himself. So here he was after traveling far from Canaan. He just happened upon a well where there just happened to be shepherds waiting to water their sheep. They just happened to be from Haran, and they just happened to know Rebekah's brother, Laban. As they were talking, along comes a beautiful young girl who just happens to also be bringing her sheep to water. She just happens to be a daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother. What joy must have filled Jacob's heart as he saw the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

This is the providence of God. Nothing "just happens" to God's children. What the non-Christian calls luck or chance, the people of God call God's Providence. God has everything under control and he makes things happen at just the right time. It was no accident that Jacob stopped at that particular well, or that that there were men at the well who knew his uncle, Laban, or that a sweet young lass came at that particular time. We know that "all things work together."

You have probably also experienced similar situations where things happened at just the right time. Mildred and I were pastoring a small church in Oregon. After several years, there did not seem to be any fruit for our labors. The church did not grow as we had hoped, and the salary was very meager. Mildred became very discouraged, so one day I asked God to encourage my wife. On our daily schedule, we stopped at the post office to gather our mail. In the cluster of letters was one from someone we did not know. I opened it to find a note which read that they felt that God wanted them to send us some money, and enclosed was a check. There was great rejoicing in my heart, not for the money, but for the way that God answered my prayer. God had inspired someone days before to minister some encouragement to us. Allowing for the way the U.S. mail sometimes operates, God had orchestrated for the letter to arrive on the very day that I had prayed. This was no accident. It didn't "just happen." It was not a coincidence. It was God providential care.

The word "providence" come from two Latin words, "pro," meaning before, and videre, meaning to see. Thus, it means foresight, or to see ahead. God sees ahead of time what we need, and He provides. He knows what we desire even before we ask (Matthew 6:8). What a wonderful and gracious God we serve.

Love, Dad