‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’ – Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
Back in 2016, at about the time Donald Trump was about to wrap up the Republican Nomination for President, I remember thinking, ‘If this man becomes President, how will I explain it to my children?’ I thought so much about this that I ran a web search looking for answers. I found an article that I thought was pure gold (I’d provide you with a link, but unfortunately it is no longer available). The author suggested that Trump’s rise presented the perfect opportunity to teach our children that the words of scripture are true. Specifically, she quoted Proverbs 16:18: ‘pride goes before the fall,’ and posited that it would only be a matter of time before a blustering narcissist like Trump would crash and burn. This struck a chord in me. Having written a book on the pride of Old Testament kings, I had thought long and hard about the truth of Proverbs 16:18, both in Bible times and ever since. I was convinced. And so I talked to my children about the proverb. I told them that somehow, in the story that was unfolding, the truth of scripture would once again be affirmed.
It’s been over three years since I read that article. My children and I are still waiting for the author’s prediction to come to pass. Every time I think that it might, it doesn’t. I have to admit that at times, I am deeply frustrated. I find myself echoing the classic lament, ‘How long O Lord?’ Waiting, you see, has always been as hard for me as it was for the Psalmist.
But just the other day, while wallowing in the worry of the wait, I remembered a word I have too often forgotten.
Providence.
When theologians speak of Providence, they refer to the guiding hand of God in all things; the fact that whatever happens, God remains in control. Romans 8:28 makes the point in classic fashion: ‘in all things, God is working for the good of those who love him, for those called according to his purposes.’ That is, in the midst of all things, both the beautiful and the tragic (and everything in between), God is working to bring about His divine purposes. (Please note: this does not mean that God causes tragic circumstances, just that he works in the midst of them).
It’s a beautiful concept, the notion that no matter what, God has the whole world in his hands. I think of the story of Joseph in the Old Testament (my personal favorite), the history of a man destined for great things, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his brothers, winding up in a fetid prison, seemingly experiencing the death of his dreams. But in every circumstance, at every turn, God was with Joseph, shaping and molding him into the man he was meant to be. When he became that man, God raised him from the prison to prominence in Egypt, from which position he was able to feed the world. Or I think of Ruth and her tragic history, of how the death of her husband was the death of her dreams, yet God, in His amazing providential care, created beauty from her ashes, fueled her with new life, and through her, brought hope and redemption to both Israel and the world. In each of these stories, and in so many others, we see the guiding hand of providence, working in the soil of bitterness to bring forth an abundant harvest of joy.
Such stories bring me great hope. They remind me that God is at work in history. He always has been, and always will be (even in circumstances far worse than the ones we are passing through now). I confess that for the most part I can’t make heads or tails out of what God is up to in these Trumpian days. I can’t understand what good can come from separating families. Or how things will get better amidst the rise of racist rhetoric and action. I can’t fathom how the current effort to ‘Make America White Again’ will improve things in the long run. I can’t comprehend how Christianity will prosper given its identification with this rancid political movement. Quite frankly, most of the time I’m at a total loss as to how God has been working all things together for good over the past few years.
But I know He has been. I know that His providential care is working in the midst of it all. And so, sometimes of late, when the news cycle is bouncing around in my head at night and I am having trouble falling asleep, I simply affirm, along with Alistair Begg, that ‘providence is a soft pillow and we may lie down in safety knowing that God is in control.’
Whew.
Yes, God is in control, even in the midst of this reality show we call the Trump Presidency. God is working. And perhaps, if we look hard enough, we can see some of what He is up to. Perhaps God is, among other things, preparing and purifying His Church for a new day of service and witness. He may well be using this time to reveal the hypocrisy that has long existed in His church – the fact that so many who claim to follow the crucified Christ have in fact been following a god who bears little resemblance to him. Already we can see God calling forth resisters who, in the spirit of the prophets, are speaking truth to power. He is revealing the vicious racism that is America’s original and undealt with sin, a sin that has always been present, hiding in plain sight, but can hide no more. He is calling forth a new generation of Jesus followers to raise their voices for a more just world. He is, we can hope, doing all of this and more, as he leads his Church to a new day when the children of God will live and walk in the way of the Messiah who brought Good News to the poor, announced liberation to the captives, set the oppressed free, and declared the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).
Just how God will play all of this out, I don’t know. Just how God will heal the wounds of this era, I don’t know. But I trust that He will – that He will weave his tapestry of grace even in the midst of all the nonsense, hurt, and pain. I trust that in the end, His tapestry will be beautiful.
Until we see that tapestry in all is beauty, it falls to us to trust. To stand for truth and justice. To point to what is right. To love at all costs. To speak. To act. To share solidarity with the suffering and to wait for the day of redemption that is to come. To do all of this, knowing, in the words of the Apostle Paul, that nothing we ever do in the name of Jesus will ever be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Because in the end, God will have His way.
In the end, the prideful will fall, and the glory of God will shine from sea to shining sea.
Providence is indeed a great comfort in times like these. It reminds us that, though the sorrow may last for the night, and the night may last longer than we would prefer, the joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
Take heart my friends. Morning is on its way.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent