Providence of God

You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord. (Psalm 139:2-4)

I have been going back and forth to Longton, Kansas, for the past few weeks to speak at a church. It is 300 miles almost exactly.

Wednesday I took Ella to the ladies meeting at the Purvises and thought, I’ll check my tires. When I did, I found both of the front tires were not only just about bald, there was cord showing. That meant I was riding in a death trap at 70 mph. It scared me. I was almost afraid to drive home and then to Fame Tire Co the next day.

My van takes stupid little tires. 14 inchers. Nobody uses 14 inch tires these days. The trend is to big tires. Some of the cars today almost look like one of the old Conestoga wagons with those huge wheels.

Thursday morning, I went into Fame and asked for that size in a good used tire. They didn’t have what I had on the van, but they had the next size down for a good price. I bought them, had them put on and now I am ready to go again this week to Kansas.

The point is that my tires were bad and I didn’t know it. But nothing happened. When I went to replace them, they were there for me to buy. It all worked out like I needed. In fact, the lady there (Mrs. Fame?) told me that someone had called for them yesterday but didn’t reserve them, so they were there for me to take.

I was going somewhere to do the will of the Lord and he protected me. As the Psalm above says: You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. God protected Ella and me from a wreck. He saw I needed the tires and he made them available and he made sure I had the money.

I do not believe God goes ahead of us and gives us everything we want or even necessarily need. There were too many godly people in the Bible that had severe needs that God left unaddressed. But then again, sometimes he does. In the gospel accounts, there were lots of sick people, but Jesus only healed some of them.

But the way it went Thursday. God saw that I needed those tires and that he had sent me to that church in Longton and he blessed me with both the tires and the available money to buy them.

He also protected us from a wreck. At 70 mph, if one tire had gone, the other probably would have too and I may well have flipped the van. Ella would have been hurt. So he put in me the need to check the tires and he gave me the tires and money to buy them.

That isn’t a miracle. Those are different. But it is divine intervention in my life. It was God taking care of me so that I could do what I needed to do.

And I praise him for it. Thank you, Lord.

what happened to job was unfair

From out of a storm, the LORD said to Job:
Why do you talk so much when you know so little?
Now get ready to face me! Can you answer the questions I ask?
How did I lay the foundation for the earth?
Were you there? (Job 38:1-4)

The words of God to Job were not fair and they bother me. Job had some serious concerns and God knew it. He was a good guy who did everything God wanted of him and more. Then the devil comes along and says, I’ll bet he would cave in a minute if he wasn’t so blessed. God says, watch.

The devil threw everything he had at him short of death. It got so bad that Job’s poor wife told him to just curse God so he could die and be through with the misery. We forget our misery affects others also. After all, his kids all died and his wife was left with a shattered home and a sick husband. All through no fault of his own.

All it amounted to was a bet between God and the devil. When Job complained, God said, in essence, who are you to complain?

That is probably one of the most unfair comments in the Bible. Job’s life was in ruins and God tells him to shut up.

There are things in this world that do not make sense. A Christian singer once had a song that said, “If you can’t see his hand, trust his heart.” Sometimes we cannot see his hand. And sometimes we may not see it all the way to our death.

But Job found out that God was still there through all the problems. When it was all over, God once again blessed Job. Once again he had a family and the things that God had blessed him with before, only doubled.

But did this make Job happy? At the end of it all, he said Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. (42:3-6).

It says that the later part of his life was even more blessed than the former. But, of course, his children were still dead, and I would imagine he was scarred from the boils, even though they were healed. But it says he died, an old man and full of years.

Does that mean we get everything back when God allows the devil to hurt us? I would like to think so, but so far, in my own life, it has not happened. We have gone through a crucible ourselves and so far, our fortunes have not reversed. I am waiting, but I will not hold my breath.

James, in James 5:11, says As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

He is even used later as an godly example of perseverance. God even tells Ezekiel in Ezekiel 14:14 that Jerusalem is so bad that even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD. He was still an example of greatness.

You know that Job was not an example of patience as so many say. He was terribly impatient, demanding that God answer him. He was, however, an example of perseverance. He lasted even in bad times.

That is what I am trying to do.