So many Christians today are plagued with feelings of intense anxiety and fear. Whether we are worried about the future or the state of the country we are in, fear grips us all. I know in my life personally I am filled with a lot of anxiety especially when I think about my death or the death of my wife. In these moments, it helps for us to have a firm understanding of the providence of God. In this blog, I shall talk about what the Bible says about God's providence and then I will discuss how the doctrine of His providence should affect our mental health. But, first, what do I mean by God's providence? Grand Canyon University gives a simple but very clear definition of what His providence means. They say,
"God’s providence is God’s caring provision for his people as he guides them in their journey of faith through life, accomplishing his purpose in them. God’s mission is to save people and shape them to be more like Jesus.
As you can see by this definition, it is about God's caring provision for His people. As Christians, we believe in an infinitely powerful God who is in control of everything that comes to pass. This means that not even the tiniest molecule in space is outside of the will of God. Everything happens just as He ordains it to happen. You may be wondering exactly what scriptures I have to support this claim. Well, first I would like to turn your attention to Ephesians 1:11, which says,
"In him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things to the counsel of his will"
God works out *all* things according to His will. Theologians have distinguished between God's Sovereign Will and His Moral Will. God's Sovereign Will is His plan from eternity past where He ordains all things that come to pass and His Moral Will is the Ten Commandments that He has imprinted on all people's hearts. The best example where God's Sovereign Will and His Moral Will meet is with Jesus Christ on the cross. On the one hand, murder is sinful (according to God's Moral Will) but on the other hand, God ordained Jesus to be crucified for the sins of His elect. As we see in Revelation 13:8,
"All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast -- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world"
Here we see that it was part of God's plan from before the foundation of the world to see Jesus Christ crucified. Yet, when we turn to Acts 5:30, we read the following,
"The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree"
As you can see, God still held those who killed Jesus accountable for their actions. No one can use God's sovereignty as an excuse to evade responsibility for one's actions. God will not hold him who sins to be without guilt for sin is very heinous in His sight. But, I digress. Another Scripture I'd like to turn your attention to is Romans 8:28, which says,
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose"
I strongly believe that this applies to literally everything that we can go through in this life. No matter how big or small our trials and tribulations are, they are all working together for our good. We may not be able to fully comprehend how certain heinous acts are being worked out for our good, but We trust and serve an all-powerful and all-knowing God. I like to use the example of a beautiful tapestry: if we just focus on the individual squares then we will miss the big picture that the tapestry is displaying. However, all those individual squares are forming a beautiful picture for us to gaze upon. In the same way, our individual circumstances may seem like isolated events, but they are forming a much bigger and more beautiful picture than we can even imagine. It takes faith for us to look at our individual life circumstances in this way. The next and final Scripture I'd like to turn your attention to is Matthew 10:29-31. Our Lord says,
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows"
Here Jesus is telling us that just like the lives of a bird are in His hands to the point that not one dies without His ordination, so is it the same way for us. Our lives are completely in the Sovereign hands of God. And we can trust Him because He is completely good. So, how should the knowledge of God's providence affect our mental health? I have found that this knowledge should have three different effects on our mental health. They are the following:
1) It should cause us to rest easy
2) It should allow us to have peace of mind about the future
3) It should cause us to not fear death
I will elaborate on each of these points but first I'd like to say that I know that there may be other effects this doctrine should have on our mental health. These are just the main ones I can think of right now. If you can think of any more please feel free to let me know.
It Should Cause Us To Rest Easy
What I mean by this is that when we understand that God is completely sovereign over everything that comes to pass and that He is working out all things for our good, we should not feel like we must work ourselves to the bone just to make ends meet. We can finally take time to rest from our work because we know that God is taking care of our needs. Someone who is working himself tirelessly to the bone is demonstrating that he does not truly trust in the providence of God.
It Should Allow Us To Have Peace of Mind About The Future
What I mean by this is that when we truly understand that God ordains all things that come to pass, we can trust that anything we go through in life is not a surprise to God. A certain trial we are experiencing may catch us by surprise but it definitely is not catching Him by surprise. For this reason, we can trust in Him and we can be free from anxieties no matter what we are going through.
It Should Cause Us To Not Fear Death
What I mean by this is that when we are trusting in the Sovereignty of God, we will understand that whether we live or die it is all in His hands. We will understand that no matter what we will live as long as God decides we will live and we will die whenever He decides we will die. Contrary to popular opinion, no one "dies before their time". This is a remarkable truth that deeply affects me because I frequently think about my own death and when I do it helps me to understand that my life and death are up to God.
I hope that this blog helps you to understand God's providence a little better and I hope that after reading this you have a little more peace of mind about your current circumstances. We serve a great God who cares for us. Thank you for reading this and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!!!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"God’s providence is God’s caring provision for his people as he guides them in their journey of faith through life, accomplishing his purpose in them. God’s mission is to save people and shape them to be more like Jesus.
As you can see by this definition, it is about God's caring provision for His people. As Christians, we believe in an infinitely powerful God who is in control of everything that comes to pass. This means that not even the tiniest molecule in space is outside of the will of God. Everything happens just as He ordains it to happen. You may be wondering exactly what scriptures I have to support this claim. Well, first I would like to turn your attention to Ephesians 1:11, which says,
"In him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things to the counsel of his will"
God works out *all* things according to His will. Theologians have distinguished between God's Sovereign Will and His Moral Will. God's Sovereign Will is His plan from eternity past where He ordains all things that come to pass and His Moral Will is the Ten Commandments that He has imprinted on all people's hearts. The best example where God's Sovereign Will and His Moral Will meet is with Jesus Christ on the cross. On the one hand, murder is sinful (according to God's Moral Will) but on the other hand, God ordained Jesus to be crucified for the sins of His elect. As we see in Revelation 13:8,
"All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast -- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world"
Here we see that it was part of God's plan from before the foundation of the world to see Jesus Christ crucified. Yet, when we turn to Acts 5:30, we read the following,
"The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree"
As you can see, God still held those who killed Jesus accountable for their actions. No one can use God's sovereignty as an excuse to evade responsibility for one's actions. God will not hold him who sins to be without guilt for sin is very heinous in His sight. But, I digress. Another Scripture I'd like to turn your attention to is Romans 8:28, which says,
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose"
I strongly believe that this applies to literally everything that we can go through in this life. No matter how big or small our trials and tribulations are, they are all working together for our good. We may not be able to fully comprehend how certain heinous acts are being worked out for our good, but We trust and serve an all-powerful and all-knowing God. I like to use the example of a beautiful tapestry: if we just focus on the individual squares then we will miss the big picture that the tapestry is displaying. However, all those individual squares are forming a beautiful picture for us to gaze upon. In the same way, our individual circumstances may seem like isolated events, but they are forming a much bigger and more beautiful picture than we can even imagine. It takes faith for us to look at our individual life circumstances in this way. The next and final Scripture I'd like to turn your attention to is Matthew 10:29-31. Our Lord says,
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows"
Here Jesus is telling us that just like the lives of a bird are in His hands to the point that not one dies without His ordination, so is it the same way for us. Our lives are completely in the Sovereign hands of God. And we can trust Him because He is completely good. So, how should the knowledge of God's providence affect our mental health? I have found that this knowledge should have three different effects on our mental health. They are the following:
1) It should cause us to rest easy
2) It should allow us to have peace of mind about the future
3) It should cause us to not fear death
I will elaborate on each of these points but first I'd like to say that I know that there may be other effects this doctrine should have on our mental health. These are just the main ones I can think of right now. If you can think of any more please feel free to let me know.
It Should Cause Us To Rest Easy
What I mean by this is that when we understand that God is completely sovereign over everything that comes to pass and that He is working out all things for our good, we should not feel like we must work ourselves to the bone just to make ends meet. We can finally take time to rest from our work because we know that God is taking care of our needs. Someone who is working himself tirelessly to the bone is demonstrating that he does not truly trust in the providence of God.
It Should Allow Us To Have Peace of Mind About The Future
What I mean by this is that when we truly understand that God ordains all things that come to pass, we can trust that anything we go through in life is not a surprise to God. A certain trial we are experiencing may catch us by surprise but it definitely is not catching Him by surprise. For this reason, we can trust in Him and we can be free from anxieties no matter what we are going through.
It Should Cause Us To Not Fear Death
What I mean by this is that when we are trusting in the Sovereignty of God, we will understand that whether we live or die it is all in His hands. We will understand that no matter what we will live as long as God decides we will live and we will die whenever He decides we will die. Contrary to popular opinion, no one "dies before their time". This is a remarkable truth that deeply affects me because I frequently think about my own death and when I do it helps me to understand that my life and death are up to God.
I hope that this blog helps you to understand God's providence a little better and I hope that after reading this you have a little more peace of mind about your current circumstances. We serve a great God who cares for us. Thank you for reading this and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!!!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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