1 What is Providence?

The divine providence is the government of the Lord’s divine love and wisdom.

Divine Providence1 

I was once talking with a woman who shared her doubts about the existence of God.  I asked her if she saw evidence of love in the created universe.  She said that she saw it in the warmth of the sun, in the tender care animals give to their young, in human kindness and nurturing.  There is plenty of evidence of love in the universe.  I then asked if she saw evidence of wisdom in creation.  Yes, she saw it everywhere - in the intricate pattern of veins on a leaf, in the marvelous sequence from seed to plant to fruit and back to seeds again, in the marvels of the human body (she was a nurse).  She could see that everything in the universe is from love by means of wisdom.  I then explained that her doubts might be based on the fact that there are some things about life that seem very harsh, and even unloving.  Before attempting to square these bitter experiences with our picture of God, we need to remember that the divine love operates wisely.  Sometimes the love is evident.  Sometimes it is not.  There are aspects of life permitted by God out of wisdom, because in the long run they lead to some good end.  God operates according to principles of wisdom, or divine laws.  It is as if the divine love says: “I want to give the gift of life to others and share my love with them”, and the divine wisdom answers: “These are the principles to enable you to accomplish this.”  The Lord runs the universe from love, using wisdom, and this government is what is called “providence.”   

Implied in this is the idea that creation has a purpose, which means that the universe was created out of love.  The love behind the universe is infinite - and so is beyond any idea of love we can grasp.  Just as it is hard to imagine the intensity of the heat of the sun, so it is impossible to grasp the intensity of the love that resulted in creation.   It is not just some blind energy or force - some overpowering love.  That kind of love can be terrifying.  We tend to avoid people who are affectionate but have no common sense.   We can feel smothered by this kind of love.  It is reassuring to know that the divine love always acts intelligently, wisely and following principles of order.  We live in an orderly universe, at the heart of which is love.  When people doubt the existence of divine providence because they see pain and evil in the world, they are questioning how their experience can fit in with the idea of a loving God.  Remembering that love operates wisely, we can then ask a different question: how does life as we know it fit in with the idea of a loving and wise God?  Viewed more deeply, things that otherwise do not make sense might be evidence of a more profound love than we ever realized, and a greater wisdom than we suspected.   

Now a loving and wise God would be just as concerned about the unfolding of the universe as in its original creation.  It is a simple step to say that not only is creation an evidence of love operating wisely, but also that the way the universe runs reflects the same combination of love and wisdom.  God is concerned about the way the universe runs, and this ongoing care is what is called “divine providence”.   
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2 Unity – The Main Goal of Providence 

Divine love and wisdom go forth from the Lord as one.
The purpose of the divine providence is that every created thing,

 in general and in particular shall be a one;

and if it is not, that it shall become such.

                                                           Divine Providence 4, 7 

As I child I used to love tinkering with junk.  My father went to auction sales and brought back a seemingly unlimited supply.  Occasionally the treasure would include an old clock, and I would try my hand at fixing it.  Some of them were easy enough to take apart, and almost impossible to put back together, especially the ones with powerful springs that had to be wound tight before being inserted into their casings.  Sometimes I had a few pieces left over, and felt like just putting them anywhere inside the casing and closing it up.  But, of course, the clock did not work unless every piece was in its intended location.  On those rare occasions when I actually got a clock to work, it was as if the clock no more consisted of individual pieces.  It was one single entity.  It could only function if it was unified in that way.   

Some people have compared the universe to a clock.  This principle of divine providence says that the universe itself has to operate as a unity.  Where that unity is broken, divine providence works to have it restored. 

The same is true of the human body, with its trillions of cells, and numerous organs and parts.  When a person is injured in a car accident, some of the parts are damaged, some are separated from their special place, and the unity of the body is injured.  The medical experts work to sew the bits and pieces together, and the body immediately sets to work restoring that unity.  It repairs damaged tissue, re-grows sections of bone, flushes out dead or damaged cells, and the body is healed.  Interestingly, the word ‘heal’ means to make ‘whole’.  Also, the word ‘whole’ is related to the word ‘holy’.  All three words - heal - whole - holy - have the idea of oneness.  There is something sacred about having all of the elements of creation acting as one. 

This same principle applies to the human mind.  There are times when we feel fragmented, with our thoughts and feelings somehow disconnected, and we are in need of mental healing.  Again, it is a matter of restoring unity. 

In personal relationships, there is a similar need for unity.  When there is a distance between two people they feel uncomfortable, and might want to do what they can to restore the connection.  This is not always possible.  Where it can be achieved it can take a considerable effort, but it is worthwhile because the whole of providence strives for harmony and unity, not just in the universe as a vast structure of creation, but more importantly in the world of human beings and their thoughts, feelings and their relationships with each other.  

The heart of the prayer of Jesus, recorded in John 17, was a longing for unity: He prayed that “they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11). 

This is the overriding purpose of providence, to preserve the universe, spiritual and material, as a unity.  Why is that?  Because, without unity, the universe could not exist.  The heaven of angels is unified under the all-embracing spirit of the love of God.  There is a spiritual connection between all believers called the ‘communion of saints’.  We need unity in our relationships, and where it does not exist, we need to work toward it.  It is vital to have integrity in our mind and heart.  The word ‘integrity’ means ‘wholeness’ or ‘oneness’.  As human beings, we tend to break the connections with each other, and even break the integrity within ourselves. The providence of God constantly works toward restoring unity: in creation, in relationships, and in each human heart.

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3    Why Did God Create? 

The Lord did not create the universe for His own sake, but for the sake of those with whom He is to be in heaven; since spiritual love is such that it wants to give what is its own to others.  So far as it can do this, it is in its being, in its peace and in its blessedness. . . . From this it follows that the divine providence, arising from the divine love, has as its end a heaven consisting of people who have become angels, or who are in the process of becoming angels, upon whom the Lord is able to bestow all the blessings and joys that belong to love and wisdom, and to communicate these from Himself in them.  Divine Providence 27     

Creation arises from the divine energy that radiates love, and seeks to bring happiness to others outside of itself.  This is why God created the universe - so that beings would exist that could benefit from this love.  There is nothing selfish in God.   

In trying to grasp the immensity of this concept, I imagine a kind of dialogue with God.  This is put into ordinary language not to be irreverent, but to communicate this deep concept in a simpler form. 

We can imagine a conversation something like this: 

Interviewer:  God, we marvel at Your creation.  Why did You create such a vast and complex system?  What is the point of it all? 

God:  Because of the intensity of my love.  I care, and I want to share my love with others. 

Interviewer:  What does this do for the people You have created? 

God:  They are filled with happiness and bliss.  That is the point of creation - to spread happiness. 

Interviewer:  Unfortunately, some people find life really difficult.  They aren’t particularly happy. 

God:  I know, and it grieves me. I love it when people are happy, but I am willing for them to go through unhappy times if they lead to a deeper and more lasting happiness.  My main concern is not with people’s happiness on earth.  I am interested in their long-term happiness, and I mean really long-term.  I want them to be happy forever. 

Interviewer:  Don’t people have any say in the matter? 

God:  Of course they do.  I gave them freedom, and this means that I will not force happiness on them.  They have to learn how to find it.  They have to search for it.  

Interviewer:  Suppose they choose not to be happy? 

God:  I will let them have whatever life they choose, but I will always seek to guide them to a higher happiness than they would settle for by themselves. 

Interviewer:  Where do they find that happiness? 

God:  It’s my happiness, and so they find it by making a connection with Me.  As long as we are connected, I can share my joy with them, and make it full.   

Interviewer:  How do You do that? 

God:  By sharing myself with them, and by entering their hearts.  When I am in them, I can fill them with joy from the inside out.   

Interviewer:  Is that something people can only get after they die?   

God:  No, it’s available to them here on earth, but not to the same extent that they will experience after death. 

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4   Knowing the Way 

Love, joy and happiness are at the heart of the universe.  It is reassuring to know that we were created by a God who loves us totally (even with our faults) and wants to share His joy with us.   We might reject Him, but He will never reject us.  All He asks is that we learn about the path the leads to heaven, and walk that path to the best of our ability. 

No one becomes an angel, that is, comes into heaven, unless he or she carries angelic qualities from the world.   And in angelic qualities there is a knowledge of the way from walking in it, and a walking in the way through a knowledge of it.  Divine Providence 60 

Sometimes when I am walking along my favorite mountain trails I think about this passage.  How do you really know a trail?  From walking it.  How do you find a trail to follow?  By learning about its existence.   

Usually before I lead a hike in a new area, I study my growing collection of maps.  I want to know where to find the trailhead.  I look for the starting altitude and elevation gain or loss.  I want to know the trail’s total distance and something of the nature of the terrain.  Some of this information is in books.  Some I have to work out from a study of contour maps.   

By the time we set out on a new trail, I know something about it.  Without that knowledge, I would not know about the existence of the trail, and I might not be willing to walk on it.  But do I really know the trail?  Not at all.  There have been times when I made the mistake of describing a hike to potential hikers.  After I assured them it was easy, we all found that it was not easy at all.  Recently, we went along the “Mint Spring Trail”.  I told people that it is “relatively flat”.  How did I know that?  Well, I knew that the trail started at 7960 feet above sea level, and finished at exactly the same altitude.  What I did not know was how much ‘up and down’ took place between those two points.  It turned out to be a delightful trail, but more strenuous than I had originally thought.   From experiences like that, I have grown more cautious.  And I still make mistakes. I realize that I can learn many things about a trail from books and maps. 

But I don’t really know the trail until I have walked it. Walking gives me a completely different kind of knowledge than I could ever get from books or from other people.  There is only one way to learn a trail - and that is from walking it, not just once, but many times. 

The same is true of our spiritual journey.  We know about the life that leads to heaven from books - especially the Word.  This knowledge enables us to set off on a direction in life, and follow what we consider to be a right path.  We walk in that path from knowing about it.  As soon as we actually follow the steps that take us along that path, we know it in a totally different way. We know the path from walking it.  This is how we learn to become angels, even while living our earthly lives.   

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5  The First Law of Providence 

There are laws of the divine providence that are unknown to people.

It is a law of the Divine Providence

that people should act in freedom according to reason.

Divine Providence 70, 71 

When people hear that God is all-powerful, they take this to mean that God can do anything.  However, that is not really true.  It is more accurate to say, “God can do anything He wants.”    

At once, this sets limits on the way God operates, because He chooses to follow His own laws of order. The divine love operates wisely to achieve its ends.  Getting to know something about these spiritual laws helps us to make sense out of our experience.   

Many people find it hard to reconcile life (as we know it) with the concept of a loving God.   The existences of war, disease, pain and disorder makes them wonder if God knows about human suffering.  If He does not know, then His knowledge is limited.  If He does know, but is unable to do anything to make things better, He is not all-powerful.  The alternative, that He has the power to improve things but chooses not to, is unthinkable.

It is so refreshing to think that there is order in the universe, and that the painful and difficult things of life can be understood once we gain some idea of the spiritual laws of creation. 

The study of science is based on the idea that there are laws that govern the way matter behaves.  Continuing developments in science assume that there are many laws not yet known, but that can be discovered.  If someone were to convince us that the universe is a totally chaotic system without any laws, we would consider abandoning science altogether.  What is the point of studying something that can never be understood? 

It is similar with our efforts to understand life.  If someone were to convince us that there is no order to the course of human life, we would abandon any effort to understand God, and might eventually deny God altogether. 

There are spiritual laws.  We can learn about these laws, and in doing so, we can make better sense out of life. 

The first law governing how God deals with humans is that people should act in freedom according to reason.  We have been created with two marvelous faculties - the ability to love and the ability to think.  The ability to love gives us freedom, and the ability to think is what we call reason. 

God works with us having total respect for these two faculties.  This involves allowing people to make mistakes and grow from their mistakes.  It also involves allowing people to think for themselves.  Only the things that we do freely and with some understanding become part of our character. In all that God does with us, leading us through life to our spiritual home, these two faculties are carefully protected.   

Some say that the gift of freedom is too dangerous.  People can and do misuse their freedom.  But imagine if that gift were taken away!  If we had no freedom, we would have no interest in life, goals, or anything else that we really cared about, since love and freedom go hand-in-hand.  Since God wanted to share love with us, He gave us the ability to feel love and respond to it.  This also means that He gave us the freedom to do with life as we will.  It might seem like a terrible risk on God’s part.  But it was a risk worth taking, because it opens for us the possibility of a free and loving enjoyment of life.  

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6    The Second Law 

People ought to put away evil things from the external level of their life, as if of themselves.  Then the Lord cleanses them from the cravings for evil on the internal level, and from the evils themselves on the external level.

  Divine Providence 118, 119 

The word evil covers the character defects that are harmful to ourselves or to others.  It includes the aspects of our lives that we would like to change.  Suppose a person has a problem with hatred and contempt for other people, and wants to change.  How is that change going to happen?  Sometimes we think that if we only pray to God, He will somehow wipe problematic things away in an instant.  However, we find that it is not as simple as that.  Suppose one person has a problem with deceit, and still another is troubled with lust. What are they to do about it? 

The first step is to acknowledge that these things are a problem.  Most of us find difficulty with that.  We can see things in others that need to be changed, but are not so clear about the faults within ourselves. 

Once the problem is seen, the question still remains: What can we do about it?  We might change our behavior.  Perhaps we could talk more gently and kindly, even though we are seething with anger inside.  Maybe we could try to be more honest.  We might even try to clean up our lusts, but chances are that we would never resolve the problem. 

Once I was with a group of children at the beach, and the children became fascinated with the grasses that grew out of the sand dunes. One child suggested that we dig down until we got to the base of the roots.  After several hours of digging, we had to give up.  We never did trace the roots all the way back to their beginnings.   

If we try to trace back the sources of our personality problems, we would have an even more difficult search.  Some of us spend years in therapy, and never get to the root of our problems.  This therapy can be immensely valuable, and help us get important insights into our behavior, but of itself, it does not go to the core of the problems, since the core is really beyond our conscious knowledge. What are we to do then? 

The answer is very simple.  In the case of the grass growing in the sand dunes, if we cut off the grass to the depth we could trace, and did so repeatedly, eventually the grass would die back.  This illustrates a law of spiritual life.  We do not have to go back into the deepest aspects of our spiritual life to find the source of the harmful things in ourselves.  We simply have to deal with the things we notice in our conscious minds and in our actions. If we clean up our behavior, and check the conscious thoughts that we see to be negative, the Lord will weaken and finally remove the inner cravings for those negative things. 

We need to use our freedom and our ability to reason (protected by the first law of providence) to deal with as many of our shortcomings and problems as come into our awareness. As we do so, the Lord works an inner miracle, removing the longings which lie deeper than we could ever find.  Eventually those negative things become less and less a part of our lives, leaving more room for what is positive. 

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7     The Third Law 

It is impossible to force people to think what they are not willing to think, and to will what their thought forbids them to will, thus to believe what they do not believe and certainly what they are unwilling to believe.  It is impossible to force people to love what they do not love, and certainly what they are unwilling to love because the spirit of people or their mind is in full liberty of thinking, willing, believing and loving.  Divine Providence 129  

When our first child was born, I soon noticed that although he had a tiny little body, he had a fully developed will.  We soon learned that we had to take into account his desires and work with them.  We found the same with all of our children.  We could lead them, encourage them and strongly suggest things to them, but we could not force them.  

This is in keeping with the law of divine providence related to people not being forced in spiritual matters.  A look at the history of various denominations in the Christian world shows that this law has not been well understood in the past. Priests and ministers try to force people to be good. They use threats and warnings about hell fire and damnation.  Do those threats to any good? They may be successful to some extent in getting people to follow the customs of the church, but at the same time, they generate resentment and rebellion.   

It may be possible to force people to do certain things, but we cannot force them to feel or to love.  I learned recently that the Nazi Army in World War Two was not to be feared as much as we might have thought.  Many of the artillery shells were duds, and many of their soldiers surrendered at the slightest opportunity.  Why?  Because slave laborers made the weapons, and many of the soldiers were non-Germans who were forced into military service by the threat of death.  They wore the uniform, and they did a minimum of fighting, but their hearts were not in it, and they seriously weakened the German Army. 

There are many examples in history of the resilience of the human spirit.  The Romans killed countless Christian martyrs, but the threat of death was powerless against their spiritual beliefs.  Joan of Arc was burned alive, but she refused to renounce her visions.  The human spirit insists on being free, and this freedom is protected by God as our most precious gift.   

In the olden days, people were practically compelled to go to church.  Imagine what those services were like!  Forced worship is external, dead, lifeless and sad.  Free worship is spiritual, living, clear and joyful.  By allowing people to worship (or not), we are taking a risk that people might choose something else.  But we are also opening the possibility of a far more vibrant and living worship than is possible under some system of coercion. 

Anything that destroys freedom or reason is harmful to people’s spiritual development.  Ignorance is also a barrier to spiritual growth.  How can a person progress without knowing something of the nature of spiritual life and how to achieve spirituality? 

In marriage, two equal people enter into a relationship in which neither one is boss of the other.  Everything they do to build the relationship depends on the principle that people can only be led in freedom and according to reason.  Some people prefer a marriage where one is boss and the other humbly complies, but whatever that is, it is not a true partnership. 

Amazingly, although pressure from other people may be harmful to our spiritual state, the pressure we put on ourselves is a sign of health and freedom.  I often think of this when I see people jogging on a cold November morning.  Part of them would love to be in bed.  However, another part gives an internal command that says, “get up and get moving!”  A person is most free when he or she is doing something from internal compulsion.

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8    The Fourth Law 

It is a law of the divine providence

that people should be led and taught by the Lord from heaven

by means of the Word and by means of doctrine and preaching from the Word,

and this to all appearance as if by themselves.  Divine Providence 154 

Occasionally you hear people complain about the way God runs the universe.  Could we do it any better?  Imagine that you were God and had the care of a small group of people.  You realize that to leave them in freedom, they must not be consciously aware of your existence.  As God, you want to lead and teach that group.  How would you do it?   

Let’s take the two tasks separately.  You realize that the leading would have to be done very carefully, so gently that the group does not notice it.  When we want our children to behave, we talk to them, give them orders, make conditions, threaten them, set up consequences for their actions, and so on.  However, as God, you would not be allowed to use any of those human means.  What you would have instead is the ability to flow into the heart of the people, activating various feelings and desires.  You want the people to eat, so you provide an appetite for food.  You want them to learn, so you create curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. You want them to care for their children, and so you plant a love for children in their hearts.  So long as you work through these appetites and affections, you can lead them without their realizing it.  

Suppose they followed other appetites, such as the desire for revenge.  What would you do then?  You would have to teach them the difference between right and wrong.  How can you teach if you are not allowed to make your presence known?  You would need to have messengers, and prophets.  You would need to be able to communicate indirectly through written revelation.   

Of course, people can read the Bible without understanding it.  They can also read it and twist its meaning to suit their own ends.  Just providing the Bible is not enough.  It is one thing to read the Word of God.  It is another thing to understand it.  This is where another divine power comes in – specifically, the ability to turn a light on inside a person’s mind. 

This explains how it is that we can be reading the Word, at times, and not getting much out of it.  At another time, we might find ourselves reading the very same passages, and finding them full of meaning.  Some people study a part of Scripture, and find that it doesn’t make sense to them.  Later they might hear a discussion or a sermon on the same text, and experience that internal sight.  A light goes on inside them.  They might even say: “Oh, now I see.” That internal sight does not come from the preacher or the people who are talking.  It is a gift from the Lord, who has the power to enlighten the mind. 

Obviously, if we are to be led and taught by the Lord, we need to cooperate.  We respond to the desire to do the right thing, which glows inside our heart.  We ponder and reflect on the meaning of life.  We search for an understanding of the Lord’s will.  In all of this, God is leading and teaching us - leading by flowing into our interests, and teaching by enlightening our minds.  In all of this, it seems as if we are making our own choices.  It appears that it is from our own ideas to search for the truth. The reality is that we are being led and taught.  

The Lord has promised that those who seek Him will find Him, especially as they read the pages of the Word with enlightenment.  Those who take on this search are not only helping themselves.  By bringing light and warmth into the world, others also benefit. 

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9   The Fifth Law 

People are allowed to see the divine providence in the back but not in the face. 

Also they are allowed to see it when they are in a spiritual state of mind,

but not when in a natural one. Divine Providence 187 

Imagine yourself in some science fiction situation where you are told that you can be transported into the future.  You have a little time to think it over.  At first, you think how wonderful it would be.  You would have the answers to so many questions:  Did I take that job?  Did I marry that person, or was it someone else?  Did I move to some new area, or stay put?  Then you might ask yourself: Do I want to know the answers to those questions?  Do I really want to know the details of my life ahead of time?  If I knew certain things, wouldn’t that change the way I behave in the present?  For example, if I learned that I would not be marrying the person I am now dating, wouldn’t that have an immediate impact on our relationship?   

Now imagine that you decide to take the risk.  You allow yourself to be transported into the future, and you find, to your horror, that your parents were killed in a car crash sometime between the present and that future time.  Wouldn’t you want to go back to the present, and immediately set to work to make sure that your parents never traveled in a car?  How could you avoid trying to rewrite the story of their lives, and of your own?  Then you stop to think: If I go back and change the story of my life so that the future is different, what will that do to the lives of other people?   

This little exercise might convince you that it is perfect that God keeps us in the dark about how providence is operating in the present moment.  It is wonderful that He operates with great care so as to preserve our freedom and reason. 

Knowing every step of providence as it happens would be like watching a suspense movie for the fifteenth time.  You know every twist and turn of the plot.  You are not as tense as you were the first time you saw it, and you are not as involved in the story.  If we knew precisely how God was working with us in the present and exactly where we are being led in the future, doesn’t it seem that our own present choices and future planning would make no difference? 

Looking back is a very different matter.  It is very safe to review the past with the question, How did providence help me?  I believe that most people could easily come up with a list of ways in which God led them.  They could relate certain events that seemed to be accidents, and yet had profound effects on their lives.  They might be able to identify some time in their lives in which a powerful thought came to mind (seemingly from nowhere), which led them along a brand new course of growth.  I have talked with people who went through a very depressed and discouraged time, and then, for no obvious reason, experienced a change of mood.  They found themselves with new hope for the future, and afterward found that their lives did improve.   

To look back wisely, we need to think not in terms of worldly success or physical health.  We need to see our lives in terms of our spiritual development.  In doing that, we are looking at our lives from a spiritual point of view. 

People who have near death experiences often report having a life review.  In a few moments, they see the whole course of their lives, and many see very clearly how God had been leading them, even through times when it seemed as if God was totally absent.  At the turn of the year, people sometimes review the course of the past twelve months so that they can give thanks to the providence of God.  We may not be able to see God’s face or His workings in the future, but we can, at times, see His workings in the past, and rejoice in His wise providence.  

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10    Providence Never Sleeps

Every change and variation in the state of the human mind produces some change and variation in the series of things in the present, and so in the things that follow. . . .  It is like an arrow shot from a bow, which, if it should depart in the least at its start from the line of aim, would go far wide of the mark at a distance of a thousand paces or more.  This is how it would be if the Lord did not lead the states of human minds every least moment.  Divine Providence 202 

Chess is a nerve-wracking game.  It is not enough to make one good move.  You have to anticipate one of several moves your opponent might make, and think of possible responses to each one of them, and that is just looking one move ahead.  No player can anticipate all the possible moves an opponent will make through an entire game.  This situation involves only two people for a very limited time.  Imagine if you tried to plan all the moves of your life ahead of time!  You would soon throw your hands up in despair.  You cannot predict what one person will do, let alone the many people you have contact with in a typical week. 

Some students like to plan their academic careers.  It is wonderful to see people lay out projects that will take years to complete.  Some of them will follow the path they have set out for themselves.  Most will find that some unforeseen circumstance arises that changes everything. 

As the quotation from Divine Providence suggests, the slightest error in the original aim of an arrow will result in a huge error at the target.  This is where divine providence comes in.  Using our finest reason and best-laid plans, we are not capable of anticipating every possibility in the future.  It is amazing to think that the divine providence can do just that.   

Rather than try to figure this point out rationally, I find that I only have to look at the sequence of events in my own life to notice marvelous ways in which I am being led.  An example of this occurred recently, when someone missed an appointment.  Rather than worry about it, I relaxed.  A few moments later, someone else just happened to walk in the door hoping to find me free.  The timing was perfect, and was not at all what I had expected.  When I lay out a plan for the coming week, I realize that some things will take place as anticipated.  Others will just fall into place at exactly the right time.  Having observed this for many years, I find myself content, knowing two things: 1) I cannot possibly plan every detail of my life, and 2) God is still in charge.  All I have to do is to use my mind and heart to the best of my ability, resist negativity and lies, and let providence do its work.   

There is one weakness with the bow and arrow illustration.  Once the arrow leaves the bow, it continues on its course with very little to alter it.  There may be a puff of wind, it may deflect off of a branch, but once the arrow has been sent on its way, these changes are beyond the control of the archer.  It seems that the divine providence does not just launch us into life with an infinitely perfect aim.  It is more a case of the divine providence working with us every moment, subtly guiding us along the way, and making adjustments for our errors so that we can get back on course. 

The modern day arrow is something like that.  When a rocket is sent into space, great care is taken to launch it in the right direction, at the right time and speed.  There are also rocket thrusters and other means of making corrections along the route.  Without this capability, it would be impossible to land a vehicle at a precise point on a distant planet. 

In terms of our spiritual life, we cannot know the course of future events with all of their complexities.  All we need to know is that it is important for us to do our best in the present moment, resisting the negative, and attempting with all of our power to do what is right.  The Lord will do the rest.  This is the way we cooperate with the divine providence.  

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11    Providence Takes the Long View

The divine providence looks to eternal things. 

It looks to temporal things only to the extent that they agree with eternal things. 

Divine Providence 214 

Suppose a couple had a baby and a Fairy Godmother showed up explaining that she could give one blessing to the child.  “I can give your child wealth, or I can give it happiness, but I cannot give both.”  What would the couple choose for their child?  I think most parents would choose happiness. 

We have all heard stories of people whose lives were ruined by money.  The love of money is even called the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). 

In spite of this, many people get obsessed with the idea of gaining more money, as if their happiness depended on it.   People with that kind of attitude think that a windfall of money is proof of the existence of God.  The opposite side of this, obviously, is that a lack of money would be evidence that God does not exist, or does not care. 

The reality is that money is not high on the list of God’s priorities.  Of course God wants to give good gifts to His children.  Our happiness is a high priority in the divine plan.  The angels have an abundance of good and beautiful things.  Having wealth in this material world is not bad, unless it is at the expense of more valuable things.  If, for example, a person acted contrary to conscience and integrity in order to gain money, the money would become a curse instead of a blessing, since the cost of gaining it was so high.   

God wants to bestow blessings on us.  The test of whether riches and the finer things of life are blessings or not lies not in their inherent value, but in what they do for our eternal spiritual welfare. If a person ends up among the blessed in heaven, then whatever income he or she enjoyed on earth was somehow right and good.  If a person ends up in another place, those external things may have been curses.  

There is an old saying: “Redeem and lift.”  It means that, for some people, finding redemption means also finding a better standard of living.  Although not always the case, one would expect that people who are living a more spiritual life would also pay more attention to living with integrity in their work and in their relationships.  It would follow that they would become more desirable employees (unless they have a spiritual objection to the work they are doing or the morality of the firm for which they work, in which case they would probably seek employment elsewhere).  A spiritual person is more likely to pay attention to living a good and healthy life than one who is not very spiritual.   

Divine providence has very clear priorities.  The number one concern is the eternal happiness of people.  External things like wealth, fame, status, and possessions are of much less interest. 

We can align our priorities in the same way.  We can pay the most attention to the wealth of the spirit.  We can acquire good habits and strong virtues.  We can seek the kingdom of God.  If we do so, as Jesus indicated, all these other things will be added to us (Matthew 6:33).  Then, because these external things are in their place, they are more likely to benefit us.   

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12      The Divine Ratchet 

People are allowed to go deeply into the true things of faith

and the good things of charity only to the extent

that they can be kept in them until the end of their lives.  Divine Providence 221 

Looking back on my spiritual journey, I notice times when my life went through a profound change for the better.  I can remember being worried that I would somehow lose the progress I had made.  Some of the initial euphoria associated with change has worn off, but it seems as if there has been a significant shift.  I have not gone back to the person I was before.   

One of our great fears about spiritual growth is the possibility of backsliding.  If we could enter deeply into a spiritual path, and then later turn around and deny everything that we had learned, our last state would be worse than our first.  Some people are hesitant about spiritual growth for this very reason.  As the saying goes, when ‘ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise’.  Or, as Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would have no sin” (John 9:41). 

Once the spiritual process starts, there is not supposed to be any turning back.  This is the principle of the ratchet.  A ratchet is designed to keep things going in one direction.  The escapement mechanism in a watch ensures that time will not go backward.  The ratchets on the trams in San Francisco are there to keep to cars from drifting back down those long and steep hills.  Winches have ratchets on them to keep them from slipping back.   

Since ratchets are so important in these mechanical devices, it would make sense that there is a kind of divine ratchet to prevent us from slipping back in the vital upward path of spiritual growth. 

The Lord provides a spiritual safety net - a kind of basic protection that prevents people from going backwards spiritually.  It works very simply.  People are allowed to progress spiritually only according to special laws.  They may have times in which their thoughts soar to great heights, but they are not able to live up to these new thoughts.  In such times, they seem to fall back in their beliefs.  On the emotional side, they may have moments of great inspiration and peace which they do not understand and cannot yet incorporate into their lives.  These moments of inspiration can be lost.  If a person is to have a permanent step forward, all aspects of the mind need to work together in supporting each other, so that the change is gradual, and once made, is permanent.  This is possible when thoughts and feelings move forward together.  

We need to take our spiritual journey seriously and at a gradual pace.  We do not want to progress beyond our ability to sustain whatever growth we may achieve.  We do not want to slide back.  God watches over us to make sure that this does not happen. At times, we might appear to slide back, when our forward movement is still being protected. This is one of the great principles of the workings of providence.  

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13     The Tolerance of God 

The laws of permission are also laws of the divine providence.  Divine Providence 234 

Two people were talking about life.  One was having considerable difficulty reconciling a belief in God with human experience. 

“If there is a God, why is there so much suffering in the world?  How can you believe in God when you read about little babies dying of Aids?”  The questions went on and on. 

The friend said: “Think of your own life.  There are things that you are responsible for as a teacher.  Why is it that you let some of the students cheat?” 

“I don’t let them cheat.” 

“Well, you don’t exactly let them, but you know it happens.  Why don’t you create a situation in which cheating is totally impossible?” 

“Look, this is a school, not a jail, in spite of what the students say. I am not willing to teach in a system that is so rigid that the students can’t make mistakes.” 

“So you see, what you want to provide for the students is a good learning experience.  And you tolerate some of the abuses.  There is a big difference between what you want and what you tolerate.  Why can’t it be the same with God?” 

“Talk about a big difference - there is an enormous difference between having children that goof off from time to time, and the terrible wars, famines, diseases and evils that affect the human race.” 

“Admittedly, the scale is very different but the principle is the same.  God values human freedom so much that He tolerates the abuse of that freedom.  God does not love evil, but is willing to allow people to do harmful things rather than make their lives so controlled that they can only do good.” 

“You make it sound as if God is so determined to allow people to be free, that He allows a situation where people hurt each other.  What about the victims of crime, doesn’t God care for them?” 

“God cares for the victim and the criminal, and is able to turn any situation to some good end.  Suffering has a part to play in our spiritual growth.” 

“Well, I still wish that I lived in a world without so much evil in it.” 

“Suppose you found a perfect world.  Wouldn’t you be afraid to be part of that world?” 

“Why would I be afraid of that?” 

“Do you consider yourself to be without any faults?  Since you are imperfect, you would spoil a perfect world if you entered it.  Maybe the deeper question is ‘Why does God permit evil to exist in your own heart - you who are so concerned about evil in the world?’” 

“Now wait a minute, I am not that bad.” 

“I didn’t say that you were bad, just that you were imperfect.  Why do you think that God allows you to make mistakes?” 

“I would hate to live in a world where I was so controlled that I couldn’t make mistakes.”  

“Then you see - God permits your mistakes, and provides for your spiritual growth.  These are the two sides of the divine providence. And the laws that govern what the Lord provides are the same laws as the ones that deal with what the Lord permits.  This is the beautiful consistency of the way God operates.”  

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14      Waking Up 

People are allowed to think about evil things, even to the point of intending to do them. 

This is so that the evils may be removed.  Divine Providence 283 

A mother was talking to me about her child.  “I can’t understand it,” she said, “we have never lied to him, or told him any falsehoods, but one day we noticed that he was lying to us!  Where did he learn that?”

The answer was very simple.  He didn’t learn from anyone but himself.  It is similar with cruelty in children.  Where do they get their cruelty?  Is it from other people being cruel to them?  No, not necessarily.  These negative qualities arise out of self-centeredness.   A child thinking only of self will eventually learn to lie to get away with things, even if it involves getting someone else in trouble.  A child operating out of selfishness will lash out at anyone who is seen as a threat to self.   

This does not mean that children are born evil.  In a sense, we are born neither evil nor good.  Our first experiences of life are good, since tiny babies are in the presence of angels in a very special way, and are impressed with the goodness of the angels.  Eventually the self-centeredness of the child will assert itself, and the child will have times of cruelty and deceitfulness.  In adult life, we have to come to the point where we see this aspect of our lower self very clearly. 

There was a girl who grew up to be a very nice young lady.  Through the efforts of parents and teachers, she had become very polite and hard working.  Everything was seemingly perfect about her except for a tendency to feel holier than other people.  She thought that she was better than her friends.  At times, she despised others in comparison with herself.  Then she found herself in a situation where she felt threatened.  She noticed herself lying - in a very polite way - but it was still lying.  She also found herself being really hurtful toward some other people.  This all came as a great shock.  She went to a trusted friend and said, “I don’t know what came over me.  I noticed myself being really catty and cruel to my parents.  I found myself cheating in my work.  Something is terribly wrong.” 

The friend said, “Welcome to the human race. You are just discovering that you have in you all of the things that you so despise in other people.  This discovery is not to make you give up and throw in the towel.  It is to make you realize that you have work to do in your spiritual growth.” 

That example involves a person who seemed to be very good.  The principle holds equally well with people whose lives are obviously in a state of disorder.  Consider the drug addict who is stealing in order to support his habit, who is neglecting spouse, family and friends, who is totally irresponsible at work and whose life is a mess.  Some people in that condition can go through years of denial.  They seem to be totally blind to the problem, until things get so bad that they can’t escape it any more.  It is to be hoped that they wake up some day and realize how destructive, selfish and out of control their life has become.  Once they have seen this, they can begin to do something about it.  The initial motivation might be fear of imprisonment or even death.  A later motivation might be that they see the importance of living a moral and ultimately a spiritual life.  Whatever the motive, one needs to see that there is a problem and must have a strong incentive to change.  

It seems as if we all have to go through this kind of awakening, to the point where we come face to face with our own darker side.  Why does providence allow this?  So that we can take responsibility in dealing with our character defects. 

Our first motivation for cleaning up our act might be fear.  It could be a fear of being discovered, a fear of punishment, or even a fear of hell.  Later fear may be replaced by love.  We want to improve the quality of our inner life because we love others and would not want to hurt them, and we love ourselves, and want the best for ourselves.  This spiritual progress can only take place after some of these negative parts of ourselves have come into our awareness.  We can seem them in our thought patterns.  We can see them in our negative behavior or unkind words.  Eventually, we have to see these things, and realize that it is up to us to do something about them.   As the saying goes, ‘There, but for the grace of God, go I’.  It would be more accurate to say, “There go I, and it is by the grace of God that I have come to realize it.  Now I can do something about it.”  

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15     Providence Takes Care of Everyone  

The divine providence is just as much with evil people as with good ones.  Divine Providence 285 

Two people were discussing the Lord’s care over our lives.  One said: 

It feels good to know that if I try to do the right thing, providence will look over me. 

The friend said: What if you go astray?  Will providence look after you then? 

I suppose not. 

If not, what chance would you have of getting back on the right road?  Providence is not just for good people.  It is for everyone. 

Does that mean I might as well be bad? 

No.  The way providence operates is very different with the good and the bad. Let me give you an example.  Consider the laws of nature; who are they for? 

Well obviously, they are for everybody. 

Right.  So what is the difference in the way those laws work with different kinds of people?   

Well, a person who defies the laws of nature by - let’s say - a continual abuse of the body, will eventually end up in hospital or in the morgue. 

That’s right.  These are the same laws that affect the life of a health- conscious person.  But in the one case, the person understands the rules and works with them.  In the other, the person ignores the rules and has to face certain consequences.  These consequences could become a means of helping the person to take more responsibility for his own health. 

 Are you saying, then, that because I try to follow the rules I don’t get any special favors?   

God grants complete favor to everyone, so He can’t give more to one than to another.  It’s just that certain people appreciate the favors more.  Your life will definitely be better if you work with providence rather than work against it. People who live according to the order of creation receive more from life and from God.  But whatever you do, the providence of God will always be with you.   

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16     We are Vessels that Receive Life 

If people believed, as is the truth, that all goodness and truth are from the Lord and all evil and falsity are from hell, they would not appropriate goodness to themselves and make it meritorious, nor appropriate evil to themselves and make themselves guilty of it.

Divine Providence 320 

A beautiful goblet can hold healthy liquids.  The same goblet can contain poison.  Would you say that a goblet containing nourishment is a “good” goblet, and one containing poison is an “evil” one?  The goblet is neither good nor bad.  It is just a vessel.  In a similar way, human beings are not life; we are vessels that receive life.  Admittedly, the way life flows into us, activating us and working through us, is more complex than the way a liquid rests in a vessel.  In both cases, the vessel is distinct from what it contains. 

If human beings could only grasp the concept that we are vessels of life, we would avoid most of life’s great pitfalls.  Two great ones are false pride and guilt. 

False pride involves taking credit for something that is not really your own doing.  If someone complements you by saying that “you have beautiful eyes”, you might feel a flush of pride.  It is fine that you have beautiful eyes.  Can you take credit for the way your eyes look?  I hardly think so! 

There is a difference between physical characteristics and the way life and talents are used.  Suppose you do a kind, loving and wise deed for someone else.  When you are thanked, don’t you feel a certain humility?  Don’t you feel that it was a privilege to be able to do something nice, but that you can’t really take credit for it?  Sometimes we can be very conscious that God does wonderful things through us.  We behave as if we act on our own, but we know deep inside that we have been led to act wisely, and say loving things by a power higher than ourselves.  So long as we keep that in mind, we will not be able to fall into the trap of false pride? 

Often when people do kind things, they resist being thanked.  They might say, “It was nothing,” or “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”  Occasionally you even hear people say, “God inspired me to do that.”  This last phrase might sound a little pompous, and we might hesitate to put our thought into those kinds of words, but still the idea might be very much in our hearts - “thank you, Lord, for working through me.” 

The other pitfall is guilt.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to get rid of guilt feelings in life?  Wouldn’t it be great to accept the fact that at times we say and do cruel things, without wallowing in self-rejection because of it?   

Suppose we took the same attitude with guilt as we do with pride, but in this case we say, “the devil made me do it.”  I realize that the comment has been made into a great joke, so much so that it is hard to use the expression with a straight face.  However, the Bible does use expressions about the devil putting an evil thought into someone’s heart.  If good forces can operate through us, so can evil ones.  We cannot take credit for the good, or blame for the evil.  

It is possible for a person to be horrified at the mean and hateful thoughts that come into the mind, and even more so when they express themselves in words.  It is possible for a person to do some harmful and destructive act, and feel deep remorse.  It is healthy spiritually, to return repeatedly to the idea that we are vessels of life, and this means that both positive and negative forces can work through us.   

Does this mean that we should never take responsibility for our deeds and actions?  Does this mean that we should never attempt to do what is good, or say what is right?  No.  We need to behave as if we are fully responsible for our actions, keeping in mind that there are always powerful forces working through us.  Knowing this, we strive to increase the amount of good things operating through us, and reduce the negative. 

We are like goblets, although we are not the healthy drink or poison that the goblet contains.  We may not be the healthy drink or the poison, but of course we prefer to have our life mostly contain healthy things.  We want to reduce the poison.  Just knowing that we are vessels gives us power to do this.  For if we remember that we are only vessels, we can say, “I choose to receive only what is good.”  We could not do this if we were the nectar, or if we were the poison. 

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17     Our Destiny 

Everyone was created to live in a state of blessedness to eternity….The One who wills that people should live to eternity also wills that they should live in a state of blessedness.  What would eternal life be without that?  All love desires the good of another. The love of parents desires the good of their children.  The love of bridegroom and husband desires the good of his bride and wife.  And friendship’s love desires the good of friends.  Why not, then, the divine love?  And what else is this good but delight?  And what is divine good, but eternal blessedness?…Thus everyone was created to come into heaven.  This is the purpose of creation.  Divine Providence 324:6,7 

We like the idea of heaven, even if we may not know much about it.  What about the other possibility?  Most of us prefer not to think about hell, and certainly would not like the prospect of ending up there.  We might even wonder why some people go to one place and other people go to the other place.  Over four hundred years ago, John Calvin advanced the idea that God decides ahead of time who is going to heaven and who to hell.  According to Calvin, a person’s fate is determined before birth.  This is the idea that God decides ahead of time who is going to heaven and who to hell.  Obviously, this implies that people have no choice.  Most people find this idea utterly repugnant!  They cannot imagine how a loving God could choose to condemn some people to hell.  They find it hard to believe that human beings have absolutely no choice in their spiritual life. 

The book, Divine Providence, contains a much more positive teaching. It is very simple.  People are indeed predestined, and they are all predestined to heaven  Every human being born is destined for heaven.  This is because it is the nature of the divine love to give of itself to others, and to bless them.  The only destiny God has for us is a life of happiness in heaven. 

Does this mean that everyone goes to heaven?  Sadly, no.  It is possible for people to reject that destiny.  Not everyone accepts the gift of eternal happiness.  Although God has created a place for each one of us in heaven, it is up to us to accept that gift or reject it.  This gives each one of us a task in life - the task of choosing heaven.  It involves a good deal of spiritual work.  The main point is that heaven is an attainable goal, because our place in heaven is already prepared for us.  God wants us to be near Him, embraced by His love. It is not as if we have to convince a reluctant God that we are fit for heaven.  We simply have to come to value the heaven already destined for us, and take responsibility to do our part in preparing for it.   

Why is it that some people get involved in a life that is selfish, grasping and evil?  Why choose a life that is other than the life of heaven?  A simple answer is that these people become so attached to the pleasures of material possessions, and so wrapped up in their own selfishness, that they block out the possibility of enjoying life on a deeper level.  In a sense, one could say that they get their reward.  They obtain the happiness they are looking for.  Unfortunately, it is much less than the supreme happiness willed for them by God. 

Talking to the descendants of Israel, Moses put it this way:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.  (Deuteronomy 30: 19,20) 

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18     Providence is Always Working 

The operation of the divine providence for the salvation of people

begins at their birth and continues until the end of their life

and afterwards to eternity.  Divine Providence 332 

In front of the architect was an empty field.  As he stared at the space, he could see a magnificent edifice rising over the plain.  He looked for hours and hours at this spot, thinking of one detail after another.  He could picture the great tower, with tall stained glass windows letting in a rich and varied pattern of color.  He could see the nave, with its pillars and pews, leading up to the high altar.  He had an idea of the composition of the floor, the placement of the organ, and could hear in his head its magnificent chords echoing through the building. 

For months he sketched and planned.  He needed to estimate very carefully how much material to order, from the sandstone blocks down to the hardware for the doors.  Gradually the building took shape on his drawing table, with the general features of the cathedral, down to the last details.   

After the many drawings were complete, it was necessary to work with suppliers and builders to make sure that all of the elements would be there, and at the right time.  It would be no use to have the foundation materials arrive after the walls started to go up.  The stained glass could not go into place until just the right moment, to reduce the risk of breakage.  He was a very fussy architect, and paid attention to every aspect of the plan.   

Soon a small army of workers was on the site, with supervisors going back to the plans to make sure that everything was done according to specifications.  Inspectors checked everything to make sure that the edifice would stand up to the rigors of weather and usage. 

Walking around the site, the architect would see stone masons cutting out pieces of stone, and he knew exactly where each one was to go.  Wood carvers were working on items that would be brought into place once everything was ready.   

When all was finished, the architect could look at the field now dominated by the beautiful structure that had begun in his mind.  

The building up of a heaven of angels from the human race is similar in many ways, though the structure is far more complex, and is designed not just for a few centuries, but forever.  The way God watches over the process and guides every step of the way is called ‘divine providence’.  The building materials are not stone, wood and glass, but human beings with a multitude of talents and abilities.  These materials are shaped not by some physical tool, but by the very process of life, beginning with birth and continuing through all of its phases.   

In the case of the cathedral, the attention to detail is a reflection of the importance of the project and the quality of the design.  Consider now the design of heaven itself.  All of life is part of this magnificent project, and each person is vital.  It is reassuring to know that the Lord has a place for us in this heavenly mansion.

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