Greetings again my Brethren. Let us continue looking at the Oracles of God and the diversity of ways God divinely communicates with man. Last month we looked at the Holy Spirit as a method and a means to communicate with man. What a wonderful way God uses His Spirit to lead and guide us into ALL truths. to convict us of our waywardness and sin. What a wonderful means that God adds to our lives so that we can come to know Him the more. So, this month we will look at God’s divine providence. Now to be honest God’s providence is a hard concept to handle for some people. I guess it is the old timey word “providence” that gets most folks, but the word “providence” is nothing more than a looking ahead to the future. I like the second meaning, the care and or help of God. And the third meaning is God Himself. If you wrap them all up you find “providence” is the care and help of God for the future. Our early forefathers (especially President George Washington often talked about God’s providence in their lives and the providence of God when starting this wonderful country called America. God’s providence is a part of everyone’s (Saints and sinners alike) lives whether we know it or not. The sun comes up and goes down beyond our abilities, but happens by God’s good graces and providence. The earth rotates on its axis at 23 1/2 degrees not by accident, but by God’s providence and His graces. So much goes on in our lives, beyond our knowledge when it comes to God’s providence. Why look at our bodies. I am amazed at how people believe our bodies were made by accident or natural selection over time through evolution. Oh no my friend we were made in the image of God, not by evolution, but by God and His providence. In II Kings we read, “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. (II Kings 5:1) Do we think it was by accident the maiden happened to work for Naaman’s wife and know of God’s ability to heal through His servants? What are all of the happenstances in these verses you would have to put together to call them coincidental. Or better how many things in our lives have to line up so we can call them coincidental or is it what is, God’s providence in our lives. Here God arranged things to happen so Naaman could be made white as snow as a testimony to him. Now that is the heart of the issue here in these verses. Remember, at the heart of the issue it is always an issue of our heart. Why did Naaman have leprosy? God’s providence. Why did the maiden work for Naaman’s wife? God’s providence. Oh my Lord, can we see another word we could use for “providence?” Why sure, “will.” It is God’s will that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It is God’s will the earth tilts on her axis at 23 1/2 degrees, if not the degree change would cause the earth to spin out of orbit and into some other solar system and doom life on earth. It was God’s will for Naaman to have leprosy so God could show him he was not the “captain of the host,” “a mighty man of valour,” the biggest and toughest cocks of the walk, oh no, we are as the dust of earth, the flowers of the fields, and at the command of God and His providence will fade and blow away. The greatest lesson of God’s providence is for us to learn the simple truth, God is God and we are not. And the second lesson for us to learn is God upholds the world and our lives in the palm of His hand and at His whim, it all could be over for us and the world. Fore we all have been created not to take care of the earth or even each other, but we have been created in the image of God so that we can please God, so we can serve Him in all righteousness and truth and take a little piece of God’s glorious plan for mankind and do our part. We MUST come to see it is God’s providence, His will for our lives is the only thing that keeps us above ground and not taking a dirt nap. Naaman had to learn he was not the leader of the “mighty men of valour” and now it is our time to learn this lesson. The sooner we learn the lesson the sooner we shall be able to comprehend, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” ( 2 Peter 1:4)
Next month we will continue looking at the “Oracles of God” as we continue to look at the Diversity of Divine Communication by looking at a few examples of communication. Do you hear Him draw near? He is speaking to us, but do we have the hearing ears to hear what the LORD is saying to us? Written by David Stahl
