We've heard the term, of course. It's often used as a euphemism for God or some other "entity" (real or imagined) that protects and/or provides. (I put "entity" in quotes because there is sometimes a distinction between "Providence" and "divine Providence," where the latter refers, obviously, to God while the former is more at "luck" or some other force.) The term was in common use a century or more ago and few batted an eye. Today, of course, not only does our secular society object, but so do Christians, indirectly if not directly. You see, the concept of Providence is premised on a Sovereign (with a capital "S") God, and Christians aren't so sure anymore about that. I mean, doesn't our Free Will take precedence over God? When Bryant Gumbel asked Anne Graham Lotz why God didn't protect us from 9/11, she told him that America kept forcing God out of the public square, so "God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life." Not so Sovereign after all.
Scripture disagrees. God "works all things after the counsel of His will" (Eph 1:11). "He does whatever He pleases" (Psa 115:3). He "does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, 'What have you done?'" (Dan 4:35). And so many more (e.g., Prov 21:1; Isa 46:10; Prov 19:21; Psa 135:6; Job 42:2; Rom 9:18; 1 Tim 6:15; Isa 43:13 ... need I go on?) And we cringe a little because ... well ... we like to think that we have a say in God's plans. It should, however, be a comfort to know that God protects and provides regardless of our agreement, shouldn't it? It should give us no end of peace to know that He "is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (Eph 3:20). We should rejoice to know that God "will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Php 4:19). Ah! There it is again. Providence!
Scripture says that everything was made "from Him and through Him and to Him" (Rom 11:36). That is, everything is from, for, and about Him in the end. So any time we prefer to think of things as from, through, and to us, we err ... and fall short of His glory. We ought to embrace His Sovereignty in general and His Providence in particular ... for His glory and for our peace of mind. The diminishing of self in favor of the glorification of Him in all things can only be to our benefit.
Showing posts with label Providence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Providence. Show all posts
Thursday, August 31, 2023
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Touch of the Master's Hand
I was in the Air Force at the time. I actually liked being in the Air Force. I was an instructor and I enjoyed my work. I might even stay for the whole 20 years to get a retirement, but there were rising concerns. There was talk of limiting promotions, blocking retirement options, and even decreasing benefits like health care.
I got a call from a guy I had worked with years before. He was working for a company in California that wanted to hire me. I told him I was interested, but it was not possible. I couldn't get out to California for an interview and I still had two years on my current enlistment. So he had the vice president of the company fly to Syracuse to interview me. He liked what he saw, so he offered me a job with a salary $10,000 a year higher than I thought I needed in civilian life in California. "Well," I told him, "I'm certainly interested, but I still have two years on my enlistment." "The offer will remain open," he answered.
The next week the Air Force announced a major force reduction. "Anyone who wants to get out can get out." It was unprecedented. So, with a job offer in hand, I notified my supervisor that I planned to get out. "Oh, you can't," he assured me. "We're making this base the training location for the entire northeast quadrant of the United States. We need you and two more like you." Well, okay, but I filed the paperwork anyway. No way to lose, you know. I liked being in and I had a good offer if I got out.
My supervisor was astounded when the paperwork came back approved. So I started a month of terminal leave, packed up the family, and headed to California (our original home). Once there I contacted my friend and told him I was ready to start work. "Oh, no," he said. "We've hit a downturn. We're laying people off and can't hire anyone." So there we were, our little family of four, staying with my parents while I valiantly looked for work as my terminal leave from the Air Force counted down.
My father came back from a visit to Orange County and brought me a newspaper. I looked through the want ads and contacted all the possible places I could work. One called me back for an interview. During the interview, one of the vice presidents asked me how I had heard about them. I told him about the ad in the paper. "But," he said to the other interviewer at the time, "we didn't put an ad in the paper." All three of us were baffled.
I was offered the job and would start work a few days before the end of my terminal leave. "We don't actually hire right off," my new supervisor told me. "What we do is have you work for us from a temporary service. After 90 days, if it all works out, we hire you and then your benefits go into effect." That was 90 days without health insurance and such. But it was a job and a good one, so I would cross my fingers and go ahead. Of course, crossing fingers isn't nearly efficient as Providence. When I started work my boss told me, "We've decided to waive the 90 day requirement and you're hired outright. Your benefits will be effective immediately." So when my military benefits terminated, my civilian job benefits were in place and my family was covered.
We had gone from military to civilian, from enlisted to unemployed to well employed. We did it with job offers that didn't pan out and want ads that were never placed. All very confusing, I'm sure, but one thing of which I was quite sure. I had just witnessed the touch of the Master's hand.
I got a call from a guy I had worked with years before. He was working for a company in California that wanted to hire me. I told him I was interested, but it was not possible. I couldn't get out to California for an interview and I still had two years on my current enlistment. So he had the vice president of the company fly to Syracuse to interview me. He liked what he saw, so he offered me a job with a salary $10,000 a year higher than I thought I needed in civilian life in California. "Well," I told him, "I'm certainly interested, but I still have two years on my enlistment." "The offer will remain open," he answered.
The next week the Air Force announced a major force reduction. "Anyone who wants to get out can get out." It was unprecedented. So, with a job offer in hand, I notified my supervisor that I planned to get out. "Oh, you can't," he assured me. "We're making this base the training location for the entire northeast quadrant of the United States. We need you and two more like you." Well, okay, but I filed the paperwork anyway. No way to lose, you know. I liked being in and I had a good offer if I got out.
My supervisor was astounded when the paperwork came back approved. So I started a month of terminal leave, packed up the family, and headed to California (our original home). Once there I contacted my friend and told him I was ready to start work. "Oh, no," he said. "We've hit a downturn. We're laying people off and can't hire anyone." So there we were, our little family of four, staying with my parents while I valiantly looked for work as my terminal leave from the Air Force counted down.
My father came back from a visit to Orange County and brought me a newspaper. I looked through the want ads and contacted all the possible places I could work. One called me back for an interview. During the interview, one of the vice presidents asked me how I had heard about them. I told him about the ad in the paper. "But," he said to the other interviewer at the time, "we didn't put an ad in the paper." All three of us were baffled.
I was offered the job and would start work a few days before the end of my terminal leave. "We don't actually hire right off," my new supervisor told me. "What we do is have you work for us from a temporary service. After 90 days, if it all works out, we hire you and then your benefits go into effect." That was 90 days without health insurance and such. But it was a job and a good one, so I would cross my fingers and go ahead. Of course, crossing fingers isn't nearly efficient as Providence. When I started work my boss told me, "We've decided to waive the 90 day requirement and you're hired outright. Your benefits will be effective immediately." So when my military benefits terminated, my civilian job benefits were in place and my family was covered.
We had gone from military to civilian, from enlisted to unemployed to well employed. We did it with job offers that didn't pan out and want ads that were never placed. All very confusing, I'm sure, but one thing of which I was quite sure. I had just witnessed the touch of the Master's hand.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tracing the Hand of God
I remember when I met the woman I planned to marry, I was cautious. I didn't want to rush into anything, you know? I mean, I wanted to marry the one that God intended me to marry. So I threw up obstacles. "God," I prayed, "I will ask her father if I may marry her. If he says 'No', I will not marry her." He didn't. But I had a bunch of them. In the time between asking and marrying I had a host of things that were designed more to prevent the marriage than to encourage it. And in every case I got the "go ahead". So, we married.
For us the honeymoon ended quickly. She was pregnant after a short time, and then, right on the heels of that announcement I was unfairly fired from my job. Now I had a pregnant wife and no income. I got work as a night watchman, but security work did not provide a livable income. I decided to try the Air Force. I took the ASVAB, the test to see if you have the basic requirements to get into the military. At the end of the test was a question and answer set that was not a pass/fail, but simply an opinion survey. What do you like? What don't you like? Would you like to work with computers? "Yes!" Have you ever fixed a toaster? "No!" Are you any good with languages? "Yes!" Do you like to work on stereos? "No!" I answered a variety of questions, but every single question involving electronics was a "No!"
When the results were in, they were happy to have me join. "You scored well. You can do anything ... except mechanical stuff." Fine with me. I just wanted some sort of job training that would give me a career. I looked through a variety of things and picked out accounting. I could do that quite well, I was sure. And it would give me a job on the outside -- my goal. "Okay, Mr. Smith," the reviewer told me, "we'll give you a job in accounting. Your opening will be in October." October? Wait, this was June and my wife was pregnant now and we were in need of help now. "What would I have to do to get in sooner than October?" I asked. "Well, you can come into the station here and wait every day. If someone can't get in to go to their assignment -- say, an injury or sickness or something -- and you're qualified to take their place, we will let you go in their place."
The next day I was waiting. It didn't take long for someone not to show up. A broken leg. "Well, Mr. Smith, it looks like you qualify for his job. You can go in today." What was his job? Open electronics. Of course, the one thing in which I had zero interest. But, I reminded myself that my goal was a career and electronics would be just that, so I took it. Once in training, I got my specific electronics assignment ("Open electronics" meant I could do anything from servicing instruments on aircraft to fixing radar sites.) I was going to be an Avionic Navigation Systems Specialist.
I've been in electronics ever since. It turned out that avionic navigation systems was the last field that allowed the full range of electronic maintenance. I worked on aircraft, black boxes, circuit boards, solid state devices, even vacuum tube systems. I learned all sorts of things that would not have otherwise presented themselves. Today I have more than 30 years in electronics. I not only found the work bearable; I found it enjoyable. I've been told I have a natural aptitude for troubleshooting. It was my early experience that got me the job in civilian life that allowed me to rise from test technician to test engineer. It included building, testing, troubleshooting, documenting, even programming. And I've enjoyed it all.
Some might call that a tremendous coincidence. I call it Providence. Some might say that I really got lucky. I call it the Hand of God. Some would say that I've been a fortunate fellow. I'd say I've been blessed. There have been times that I've been able to trace the hand of God in my life. It makes it all the easier, then, to trust Him when I cannot.
For us the honeymoon ended quickly. She was pregnant after a short time, and then, right on the heels of that announcement I was unfairly fired from my job. Now I had a pregnant wife and no income. I got work as a night watchman, but security work did not provide a livable income. I decided to try the Air Force. I took the ASVAB, the test to see if you have the basic requirements to get into the military. At the end of the test was a question and answer set that was not a pass/fail, but simply an opinion survey. What do you like? What don't you like? Would you like to work with computers? "Yes!" Have you ever fixed a toaster? "No!" Are you any good with languages? "Yes!" Do you like to work on stereos? "No!" I answered a variety of questions, but every single question involving electronics was a "No!"
When the results were in, they were happy to have me join. "You scored well. You can do anything ... except mechanical stuff." Fine with me. I just wanted some sort of job training that would give me a career. I looked through a variety of things and picked out accounting. I could do that quite well, I was sure. And it would give me a job on the outside -- my goal. "Okay, Mr. Smith," the reviewer told me, "we'll give you a job in accounting. Your opening will be in October." October? Wait, this was June and my wife was pregnant now and we were in need of help now. "What would I have to do to get in sooner than October?" I asked. "Well, you can come into the station here and wait every day. If someone can't get in to go to their assignment -- say, an injury or sickness or something -- and you're qualified to take their place, we will let you go in their place."
The next day I was waiting. It didn't take long for someone not to show up. A broken leg. "Well, Mr. Smith, it looks like you qualify for his job. You can go in today." What was his job? Open electronics. Of course, the one thing in which I had zero interest. But, I reminded myself that my goal was a career and electronics would be just that, so I took it. Once in training, I got my specific electronics assignment ("Open electronics" meant I could do anything from servicing instruments on aircraft to fixing radar sites.) I was going to be an Avionic Navigation Systems Specialist.
I've been in electronics ever since. It turned out that avionic navigation systems was the last field that allowed the full range of electronic maintenance. I worked on aircraft, black boxes, circuit boards, solid state devices, even vacuum tube systems. I learned all sorts of things that would not have otherwise presented themselves. Today I have more than 30 years in electronics. I not only found the work bearable; I found it enjoyable. I've been told I have a natural aptitude for troubleshooting. It was my early experience that got me the job in civilian life that allowed me to rise from test technician to test engineer. It included building, testing, troubleshooting, documenting, even programming. And I've enjoyed it all.
Some might call that a tremendous coincidence. I call it Providence. Some might say that I really got lucky. I call it the Hand of God. Some would say that I've been a fortunate fellow. I'd say I've been blessed. There have been times that I've been able to trace the hand of God in my life. It makes it all the easier, then, to trust Him when I cannot.
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