Providence is one of those tricky topics. Controversial even. Heck, I sure don’t understand it all. But what I’ve taken from my reading, praying, and thinking on the subject is my utter need to trust God in all circumstances. To always start from the premise that God is good and is for me, no matter how it looks. This is not always easy, and obviously is easier for some more than others due to wiring and circumstances.

I am most at peace when I’m trusting God even in the face of an unfavorable situation. He knows me better than I know me, and only wants what is ultimately best for me. And as Billy Graham said, “If the human mind could comprehend God, then God would be no greater than that human mind.”What I’ve learned from the old Quaker lady Hannah Whitall Smith, as well as Brother Lawrence and Jean Pierre de Caussade, is to surrender to the present moment trusting God in all things. It is in surrender where the truest of freedom is found.The most intense, extreme case of this I’ve probably come across is Louis Zamperini’s story in Unbroken. He went through about the most insane stuff I’ve heard of, and yet, after it all, he surrendered to God and His love for Him. And he was free. And his life was one of joy and fruitfulness from that moment. As all those who knew him attest.

One of my favorite books I read last year was Toward God by the Australian monk, Michael Casey. In it, there’s a quote I’ve been chewing on for weeks, and it is provided here for your mastication:

“Both anger and sadness represent a refusal on our part to accept a situation that God’s providence has allowed to develop. Whether our reaction is manic or depressive, we are expressing a lack of faith that in some way the present crisis is a gift from God, designed for our ultimate good. Taken far enough, even the most “innocent” annoyance becomes a doubt about God’s love for us.”

In the Name of Jesus, 
Soli Deo Gloria