FORGET NONE OF HIS
BENEFITS, volume 8, number 21, May
21, 2009
Let the earth sprout
vegetation, Genesis 1:11.
Order, Goodness, and Providence
Experts said that Ronald Reagan was too old, too naïve, and too
conservative to be an effective president. Experts said that Margaret Thatcher
could not change the direction of England. After all, what could a woman do? And the
Soviet Communists were not concerned about Karol Wojtyla becoming Pope John Paul II.
He had never been involved in politics and what danger was a Polish Pope? There
had not been one for four hundred years. All three escaped assassination
attempts on their lives—Reagan in March 1981, Pope John Paul II in May 1981, and
Margaret Thatcher in October 1984. None had previously reached a place of
international prominence, and yet all three were major catalysts for
dismantling communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Do you believe that God ordered the
steps of these three to accomplish His purpose in the world? I am sure you do,
but do you believe that God also orders your every step? You may say, “Well, I
don’t know about that. Isn’t God only involved with the people who do big
things in the world?” The third day of creation reveals a God of order,
goodness, and providence, and I hope you can see that knowing this can change
your life.
God performed two significant deeds on day three of creation. First, He created
the seas and land ex nihilo, out of nothing. Verses 9-10 are telling us
that God gathered the waters below the heavens into one place and caused dry
land to appear. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for dry land is
in stark contrast to the sea. In Exodus 14 we find the same thing, where Moses
reports that Israel
passed through the Red Sea
on dry land. On the first day of creation God made the world but it was
uninhabitable. On day two He separated the upper waters from the lower waters,
but now on day three, in His goodness, He makes the world inhabitable by
animals and man. There will be land on which they can live. Second, He
instantly brought forth self-replicating vegetation, verses 11-12. Note that
this aspect of His creation was not ex nihilo. It came forth from the
earth. In other words, God ordered plants to come from the earth, to produce
seed, which would allow them to replicate themselves during the seasons. Psalm
104:14 gives praise to God for this very thing, saying that He causes the grass
to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man so that he may
bring forth food from the earth. Moses tells us straightforwardly that this
happened within one day, and there is no reason, exegetically speaking, to
believe he means anything but one, twenty-four day. God’s providence is seen in
how He created plants and fruit trees to provide food for His animals and later
for mankind. Indeed, God opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every
living thing (Psalm 145:14-16).
This means that our God, the Creator and Sustainer of all, is the true God of
order, goodness, and providence. I suggest, therefore, that in a world of
sorrow and uncertainty you must trust Him with all you have and are. I know you
have suffered hardship. Not anyone reading this hasn’t. And our present economy
is causing some of you to worry about walking into work one day, only to be
told that your position is being eliminated. But our God is the creator of all
things (Isaiah 43:1- 3). This means that He is self-existent and holy. Jonathan Edwards
has noted that the principle of derivation proves God’s self-existence and
eternal nature. Indeed the remarkable design of creation proves God’s
existence. I predict that within one hundred years the theory of evolution will
be likened to those who believed the earth is flat, that the sun revolves
around the earth, that bleeding patients heals disease.
But you may object and say, “I was born into poverty and a dysfunctional
family. How can you say that God ordered that? I thought you said that He is
good.” I did, but He is also holy which means He gives proper affection to all
things, including Himself; and He supremely loves Himself. God does what
pleases Him most, even placing you in a dysfunctional family. However He proves
His love for you by fulfilling all His promises to you. One of those is to work
all things for good to those who love Him. God is also the sustainer of all
things (Isaiah 40:27-31). He gives strength to the weary. He is all wisdom and
knowledge, meaning that He knows exactly what He is doing. He never makes a
mistake. He never has to “re do” anything. Again, you may object by saying, “I
have ruined my life with my own sin.” Or, “Others have ruined it for me.” King David
could say the same thing with his adultery and murder, not to mention the
usurpation of his kingdom by Absalom, his son; but God sustained him in his
problems.
After all, is He not the God of order (Isaiah 25:1)! Can you not see that
He has ordered your every step? I remind you of the necessity of arguing from
the greater to the lesser. If God created the sun which is a million
times the size of the earth and hangs it in its orbit, keeping earth from
moving too close and burning up her inhabitants, or too far and freezing them,
then surely He has ordered your life. Think about it—can you not see how God
has directed your every move? If not, then continue to wait upon Him for He
will one day make it plain (Psalm 27:13-14). Is He not also the God of goodness
(Psalm 34:8-10)! He showers His kindness and beneficence upon all His creation.
The beauty of a New England spring evokes within me a wonder at God’s kindness
in granting me the privilege of beholding and enjoying it.
At five months in the womb, each of one million optic nerve endings meets their
exact partner and instantly the baby receives eye sight. One month later God
takes a scalpel, as it were, and cuts the thin skin layer over the eyes,
forming eyelids. If God can create the human eye, which arguably is the most
profound, technological accomplishment in the universe, then surely He can and
will care for you. And can you not see that our God is one of gracious
providence (Psalm 145:14-16)! The word “providence” is from two Latin words pro
(for or before) and videre (to see), meaning that God sees everything before it
happens. He has set the world in motion in such a way that self-replicating
plants and fruit trees provide for animals and humans. The Chinook Salmon
travels as far as 2500 miles from its home, and when it reaches sexual
maturity, both male and female (she carrying one pound of eggs, each one-fourth
to one-half inches long) make their way back up stream to their place of
origin, laying and fertilizing the eggs, and then dying. They are born in fresh
water, adapt to sea water, and adapt again to fresh water. If God so
marvelously created and provides for the Salmon, then can He not provide for you? You
need to argue the greater to the lesser on a regular basis. God promises to
provide for you in any and every circumstance. Will you believe Him?
FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS is a weekly devotional by Reverend Al Baker, pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut.
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