All is Providential Grace

Last Sunday, Tony Carter visited our church and preached on the Providence of God. The thrust of his message was that providence is always best seen in hindsight. That is, often times in the midst of a trial, it’s difficult to see the good that will result (Romans 8:28-29) and/or to see the specific purposes of it. It’s often easy to see the feel-good, exciting things as providential grace in the moment.

But what if–what if –I could, in the present, see the providence of God, even in a trial? What if, when I was blindsided by the sudden end of a relationship, I welcomed it as grace from the Lord and asked, “What do you have for me here? Was I placing my hope in that?” What if month after month of an empty womb was to reveal to me, through all the tears and feelings of despair, that my hope and joy has been misplaced?

What if I could understand that one of the (thousands of) purposes in every trial I’ve had and will have, is to shift my gaze and worship from myself to the only One who is worthy of and rightfully deserves these things? Isn’t that providential grace? If I was made to worship Him and will eternally perish if I don’t worship Him, isn’t it grace to have God intervene and do and then help me do what will save me from hell?

Not only that, but isn’t it grace if this God, who created me not only to worship Him, but to also find the deepest joy and satisfaction to be imagined –in Him (which is worship), isn’t it providential grace if He steps in to direct me on the path that will lead me to that?

I have been reading Ann Voskamp’s book 1,000 Gifts for a few weeks now. I’m a voracious reader, but I can only handle her book in chunks because of the profound truth that resonates in my soul as I read. Well, that and because I cry every time I read it—I need to process, listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit, and respond to Him each time. Worship happens when I read this book.

I digress. My point in mentioning the books is to share something she spends some time on: the truth that all is grace. All is grace. And I’m seeing that if all is grace, it’s all providential. It’s providential grace. Divine intervention is a gift. And grace is a gift. And if trials, which we are told are for the purpose of perfecting us in Christ, are providential, then they are also grace.

Think of it, God intervening all the time with gifts that help us experience true joy which is found through worship of Him!

All of the things that feel severe, that are hard, that also “happen” to reveal what is in my heart–what if really, they are a means of grace– love –demonstrated by a Lord who loves me so much that He is not willing that I experience anything short of the fullest life I was created for? What if all because He knows that the deepest, most satisfying joy and fulfillment I crave and run to can only be found in Him?

That is grace. That is providence. Divine intervention. An undeserved gift (grace) that leads me to His heart. He wants me to experience the longings He’s put into my heart –deepest joy, deepest satisfaction, deepest intimacy of being known. So He removes the things I pursue, the things I think will fulfill what my heart craves so that I find Him.

It feels severe. It feels harsh that God took my best friend (not by death) and our third child. But behind it—behind those dark clouds, I’ve discovered that really, those events were acts of grace from a God whose love is so unlike anything I’ve ever known. To borrow the words of a friend, His love is so “other” –it’s higher than my love and beyond my comprehension, really.

And through His providential acts of grace, His tender voice has spoken so gently and with compassion,

“Kelly, let me show you, beloved, that you are missing out. You are being robbed by hoping for joy or comfort or significance in these things—that is what’s happening. I created you to experience deep, fulfilling—ultimately fulfilling life and joy and significance in me. I know you desire these things, and I delight in giving you things you love. So, I am going to give you joy and life and significance. My daughter, it is because I love you and because I want you to experience that, I’m taking these things. Understand, beloved, that it is not to hurt you, though it will hurt.”

But what if I could see all through the lens of providential grace, in the present? What if I understood in the moment
that this trial is a means of grace? This is kindness! And absolutely life-changing.  I mean, the life of my everlasting, eternal soul is at risk. Am I going to foolishly hope in and worship temporal things, or the God who created everything, and mercifully sent His only Son to die for my sin so that my soul could be saved from hell?

“Kelly, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew7:21-23.

Kelly, I want you to know me, to do the will of my Father, which is to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Through that, joy comes. You can only do that if you’re hope is in Me, if you adore Me. I am taking these things or withholding these things so that you will see that your trust, your hope, your life has been put into things that cannot provide life. I am life and I want you to have it. I am not willing that you should perish, child. This is grace.”

It has become a prayer of mine– that I would see all as providential grace, in the moment, so that during that very moment, I can worship the One who is rightfully worthy of all of my worship and experience the fullest life. A life spent in adoration of Jesus Christ is both worship and ultimately fulfilling. I am going to worship something. I want to rightfully worship Jesus who offers abundant life through my worship of Him. Even the desire to do that is grace!