Our church was broken into last evening. Wasn’t God watching out for us? I mean, we are the ones doing His work…why doesn’t He “have our backs”? Why the unnecessary difficulty in our lives? We’re trying to be good, doing the best we can…and this is how He rewards us? If He is in control, why didn’t he thwart the vandals efforts? These, and similar statements, are heard on a regular basis from Christians enduring difficulties in their lives.
I like the way that Jerry Bridges defines God’s providence in his book, Trusting God, on page 23: “God’s providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people”. His glory – our good. And, as Bridges says, these two objectives are not antithetical.
So why was our church one of at least 6 in our county that was broken into last evening? For God’s glory and our good. His glory: perhaps in our interaction with the deputy, locksmith and others. Our good: realizing our total dependence on God for safety and security; the growth in the dealing with frustration of strewn paperwork, facility expenditures and all the resulting inconveniences.
We remind ourselves that God is simply not intervening in our life in certain points and times but remains solidly in control in His care over us.
