Chance, accident, luck-or Divine Providence!
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Charles Spurgeon: "God's Providence not only extends to mankind in general, and to the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, and the innumerable fish in the sea, but also to every atom of matter in the universe!"
Don Fortner: Divine providence is the accomplishment in time, of God's sovereign and eternal decree. Providence is God bringing to pass in time (sovereignly, absolutely, and perfectly) all that He purposed in eternity.Nothing in the universe happens by luck, chance, fortune, accident, or by blind fate. Everything that comes to pass in time, was purposed by our God in eternity, and is brought to pass by His wise, adorable, holy Providence.
Providence is God's government of His universe. If we have a proper view of God's Providence, we will see the hand of God and the heart of God in everything, in all the experiences of our lives. Believers ascribe their sorrows and afflictions to the hand of their heavenly Father's wise and good Providence.
God's Providence is always executed in the wisest manner possible. We are often unable to see and understand the reasons and causes for specific events in our lives, in the lives of others, or in the happenings of the world. But our lack of understanding does not prevent us from believing God. We bow to His will, which is evident in His works of Providence, and say, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!"
The God of Providence rules all things well. How we ought to trust Him! Ever remember, our heavenly Father is God all wise, good, and omnipotent. He is too wise to err, too good to do wrong, and too strong to fail.
In His wisdom and power, God cares for, preserves and sustains and upholds, rules and directs, and governs all creatures, all actions, and all things-from the largest star in the galaxy to the smallest sparrow in a tree, for His own glory and the good of His redeemed people.
Charles Spurgeon: "Blessed is that man who is done with chance, who never speaks of luck, but believes that from the least, even to the greatest-all things are ordained by the Lord. We dare not leave out the least event! The creeping of an aphid upon a rosebud is as surely arranged by the decree of Providence, as the march of a pestilence through a nation! Believe this, for if the least thing is omitted from the supreme government-so may the next be, and the next, until nothing is left in the divine hands."
J.C. Ryle: "There is no such thing as chance, luck or accident in the Christian journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are working together for the believer's good!"
Matthew Henry: "God who feeds the sparrows, will not starve His saints! God controls all the concerns of His people, even of those that are most insignificant, and least regarded. This is an encouragement to live in a continual dependence upon God's providential care! If God numbers our hairs, much more does He number our heads. He takes care of our lives, our needs, our concerns, and our souls. God's universal providence extends itself to all creatures, and to all their actions, even the smallest and most insignificant!"
Charles Spurgeon: "Providence may be seen as the finger of God, not merely in those events which shake nations and are duly emblazoned on the page of history-but in little incidents of common life. Yes, in the motion of a grain of dust, the trembling of a dew-drop, the flight of a swallow, or the movements of a fish!"
Charles Spurgeon: "We talk of God's providence when we have hairbreadth escapes. But are they not quite as much divine providences, when we are preserved from danger?"
Charles Spurgeon: "It is most important for us to learn that the smallest trifles are as much arranged by the God of Providence, as the most momentous events! He who counts the stars, has also numbered the hairs of our heads. Our lives and deaths are predestined, but so, also, are our sitting down and our rising up."
Louis Berkhof: "Scripture everywhere teaches that even the most insignificant details of life are of divine ordering!"
Charles Spurgeon: "The best remedy for affliction, is sweet submission to God's providence. What can't be cured, must be endured!"
J.C. Ryle: "If God has given His Son to die for us, let us beware of doubting His kindness and love in any painful providence of our daily life."
Charles Spurgeon: "Divine Providence is a downy pillow for an aching head, and a blessed salve for the sharpest pain. He who can feel that his times are in the hand of God, need not tremble at anything that is in the hand of man!"