Birds, hair, worms, empires, wars!

Charles Spurgeon, "Certain Singular Subjects"

(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

Matthew 10:29-30, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

There is not a single tiny bird that picks up a worm from the ground, without your Father's direction. A plant does not sprout in the corner behind the wall, and shoot up its flower--apart from the Lord Almighty. Much less does an empire rise, flourish, or decline without divine guidance. When a leaf falls from a tree in the autumn, a divine providence guides the leaf to its place upon the sod; and when the worm uplifts itself to draw that leaf into the tunnel which it has made, the hand of the Lord directs the burial.

In everything that happens, be it small or great, the Lord is present, and His will is done. It is so in all the plottings and maneuverings of kings and princes and senates; in the marchings of armies; and in all that transpires among mortal men. Though the iniquity of man is abundantly seen--yet the overruling providence of God is ever present. The world is not left to itself, given over to chance; but in all events the hand of God may be perceived by all who care to perceive it. 

I reckon war to be a huge crime on man's side; but when battalions have marched against battalions, the destiny of empires, and possibly of the whole race of man, has turned upon the health of a commander, the clearness of his eye, or the quickness of his messenger. Yes, the turning aside of a bullet, or the fall of a horse, or the breaking of an axle, has become the pivot of history and the turning point of ages. And there at the center, the Lord is directing everything!

Every turn of history has been essential, and that the whole of it has been in the hands of the most High God. It is singular how God's hand is seen, both in dangers and preservations, in connection with every crisis of history.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

"A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" Proverbs 20:24

"We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" Romans 8:28

  . . .

Today's choice AI resource: God's Agency in War