Providence

  • Hard Providence

    Genesis 45:4-8

    John Calvin’s comments on Genesis 45:8 are essential reading for anyone studying God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. There is much we can say about the Lord’s guiltless use of evil men to achieve His good plan ...Read More

  • Isaac’s Question

    Genesis 22:7–8

    One commentator has said that after years of walking with the Lord, “God will provide” became Abraham’s motto. Certain of the Lord’s character, the patriarch is open to any of the ways in which God might choose to ...Read More

  • Jacob and Rachel

    Genesis 29:1–12

    Often we are unaware of how the Lord is working in our lives to produce good for His kingdom. In his commentary on today’s passage, John Calvin gives helpful counsel: “Whenever we may wander in uncertainty through intricate windings ...Read More

  • Jacob Deceives Isaac

    Genesis 27:14–25

    In line with His promise in Romans 8:28, God worked through Jacob’s sin for the final good of His plan. Though Jacob grasped at spiritual benefits through unspiritual means, thereby getting himself into trouble, the Lord was pleased ...Read More

  • Jacob Rebukes Laban

    Genesis 31:36-42

    One of the ways we can “measure” our spiritual growth is to take a look at how we have grown in our generosity. The longer we serve the Lord, the more conscious we should be of His free gifts. Not ...Read More

  • Joseph Forgotten?

    Genesis 40:20–23

    Isaiah 49:15 tells us that the unthinkable may even happen at times — a mother forgets her nursing baby. But God will never forget His people. Even when we do not see His helping hand, the Lord remembers us in ...Read More

  • Joseph’s Humility

    Genesis 41:14-32

    Each one of us must join with Paul and confess that “by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). The cross of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Spirit crush any thought of ...Read More

  • Joseph’s Plea for Help

    Genesis 40:9–15

    In response to those who said God’s sovereignty over death makes it useless to do anything to prevent that death, John Calvin wrote that we must avail ourselves of any chance we have to preserve our lives. We must ...Read More

  • Not a Chance

    Ephesians 1:11

    “When that light of divine providence has once shone upon a godly man, he is then relieved and set free not only from the extreme anxiety and fear that were pressing him before, but from every care” (John Calvin, Institutes ...Read More

  • Providence and Evil

    James 1:13

    Those who would use the problem of evil to deny the existence of God have a problem. As many theologians and philosophers have taught, evil is a negative idea, a parasite on the good. Without a previously existing, eternal, and ...Read More

  • Providence and Freedom

    Job 1

    Man freely does what he wants, but apart from Christ he only desires sin (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 4:8). God has renewed His people, enabling them to desire what is good. Those He has passed over choose willingly, in ...Read More

  • Providence and God’s Inheritance

    Ephesians 1:11-12

    Our Creator does not need anything from us, which makes it all the more remarkable that He purposed in eternity past to make us His own inheritance. This is a great privilege, and it is due entirely to His sovereign ...Read More

  • Providence and Gratitude

    1 Thessalonians 5:18

    The Heidelberg Catechism says that knowledge of God’s sovereign providence enables us to be thankful when things go well for us (Q&A 28). That is certainly true. However, we can also be thankful when things go ill, not because of the pain in and of itself, but because we know the Lord is working in it for His glory and our good. Let us cultivate a grateful attitude toward God, informed by the knowledge that everything is truly in His hand.Read More

  • Providence and Prayer

    James 5:16b–18

    Divine providence should not hinder prayer. Instead it should make us eager to intercede for ourselves and others, because we know God makes use of our prayers to accomplish His will. Consider this example: If my wife is ill, how ...Read More

  • Queen Esther

    Esther 1–2

    The ambivalence with which Mordecai and Esther are portrayed and the flaws they evidence will be discussed further in the coming days. However, the Lord used them, warts and all, to rescue his people in their time of dire need ...Read More