Divine Providence is a Friend

"I thought: Surely I shall die in my nest!" (Job 29:18)

Typhoon Sendong  devastated some areas in Mindanao, particularly Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities last December 16, 2011. It was so tragic that the death toll has reached over 650   with more than 800 persons still missing according to the latest news reports. 


Adversities like this may sometimes weakened our soul. However, the confidence of a  Christian is with the heart of Job who confessed in the Scripture the  most beautiful expression: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:22). Thus,  to the Christian, everything – rain and drought, heat and cold, earthquake and typhoons, flashfloods, tsunami and volcanic eruption, safety and destruction, health and disease, peace and war, prosperity and poverty, life and death, even the most seemingly random events – is attributed by Scripture to God's direct governing and Fatherly care  “according the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11).  

Reproduced herein is an excerpt of the sermon,  appropriate for these difficult times,"The Nest was Destroyed, and The Poor Bird Lay Bleeding and Exposed", by Rev. James Smith, a predecessor of Rev. Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London from 1841 until 1850.

"Job's nest was very comfortable—and appeared to be very secure. It was on high—and not to be easily reached. He knew that death could reach it—but he thought that nothing else would disturb it.

His conduct was consistent,

his conscience was quiet;

God was his Father, and

providence was his friend.

"I thought: Surely I shall die in my nest!"

But, alas! Suddenly a 'storm' arose—the nest was destroyed, and the poor bird lay bleeding and exposed! 

No earthly nest is out of danger! Temporal comforts are only lent to us. The higher the tree in which we build—the more exposed to the whirlwind and the storm! 

Here on earth—we have no continuing city. In one moment—our fine nest may be devastated! Let us therefore endeavor to leave our matters fully with the Lord—and learn to be content with His appointments. 

We must die. But when, and where, and how—should be left with the Lord. 

Five minutes after death—it will matter very little whether we died on a bed of down, in a luxurious mansion, and surrounded by kind friends—OR as a poor diseased beggar, dying alone in squalor! 

Present comforts may all leave us, and our soft nest may be scattered to the winds—but nothing can disturb our salvation and future glory! 

"These all died in faith—and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth!" Hebrews 11:13 

"They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a heavenly city for them!" Hebrews 11:16.

J.I Packer once said, "The doctrine of providence teaches Christians that they are never in the grip of blind forces (fortune, chance, luck, fate); all that happens to them is divinely planned, and each event comes as a new summons to trust, obey, and rejoice, knowing that all is for one's spiritual and eternal good (Rom. 8:28)."*

God is sovereign. He brings good out of evil. He brings glory out of suffering. He brings joy out of affliction. Divine providence is a friend!

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Note:
-Victims of Typhoon Sendong, photo courtesy of iamjammed.com
*J.I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Beliefs, Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 2001.