GOD’S NEVER-ENDING ACTIVITY
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
MARCH 10, 2013

My days are filled with all sorts of divinely ordained opportunities to bring glory to God with everything I think, all that I say, and through whatever I do. I’m thankful that I’m never bored. However, toward the end of each day I get tired, and I look forward to slowing down and going to sleep. I need a break from this whirlwind of activity. I’m able to calm down and relax because of the fact that God is “always watching, never sleeping,” Psalm 121:3 (TLB).

It’s comforting in knowing that God is always watching over me. That is part of God’s never-ending activity. In the study guide of his book, Trusting God, Jerry Bridges reminds us of the fact that, “God controls both the good and the bad. God has not looked the other way or been caught by surprise when adversity strikes us. He is in control of the adversity, directing it to His glory and our good.” That fact is called the Providence of God. “God’s providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people.” “The Bible teaches that God not only created the universe, but that He upholds and sustains it day by day, hour by hour. Scripture says, “The Son is … sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3), and “in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

“The Bible also teaches that God governs the universe, not only inanimate creation, but also the actions of all creatures, both men and animals. He is called the Ruler of all things (1 Chronicles 29:12), the blessed and only Ruler (1 Timothy 6:15).”

“Randomness, luck, chance, fate. This is modern man’s answer to the age old question, “Why?” “Christians are often unwilling to accept the fact that God is working, because they don’t understand how He is working. They have chosen to substitute the doctrine of chance for the doctrine providence.”

“If there is a single event in all of the universe that can occur outside of God’s sovereign control then we cannot trust Him. His love may be infinite, but if His power is limited and His purpose can be thwarted, we cannot trust Him. He permits, for reasons known only to Himself, people to act contrary to His sovereign will.”

“God has an over-arching purpose for all believers: to conform us to the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). He also has a specific purpose for each of us that is His unique, tailor-made plan for our individual life (see Ephesians 2:10).”

“Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will. That act of the will must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth.” “We must believe the truth that God carries out His own purposes without ever being thwarted, and He so directs and controls all events and all actions of His creatures that they never act outside of His sovereign will. That which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving Go; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God’s eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good (Taken from chapters 2 and 3 of Trusting God).”

A beautiful example of how the Providence of God works is found in the story of Joseph and his brothers and their father Jacob. Continuing from where we left off last week, we read:

Genesis 45:1-9 (TLB) 1 Joseph could stand it no longer. “Out, all of you,” he cried out to his attendants, and he was left alone with his brothers. 2 Then he wept aloud. His sobs could be heard throughout the palace, and the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace. 3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word, they were so stunned with surprise. 4 “Come over here,” he said. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt! 5 But don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it! He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 These two years of famine will grow to seven, during which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive, so that you will become a great nation. 8 Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you! And he has made me a counselor to Pharaoh, and manager of this entire nation, ruler of all the land of Egypt. Genesis 45:1-9 (TLB)

By the grace of God Joseph was able to display a wonderful example of God’s love for each of them through him. Those hate filled men had wanted to murder Joseph 13 years previously. Now they hear his thundering voice boom; “I am Joseph” as he orders them to come up to his throne where they can see for themselves. A torrent of dreadful thoughts would have been flooding through the mind of each of those guilty men. Thoughts such as what he was going to do next. Are their days numbered? Was Joseph going to have them executed?

Alexander Maclaren in his classic “Expositions of the Holy Scripture” quotes Joseph as asking, “Is my father still alive?” His brothers were so surprised by that revelation that they were dumbstruck. They couldn’t speak a word. “Come over here!” he shouts “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt! As soon as they started to obey, Joseph changed his tone of voice. It became soft, gentle, and kind. In other words, it was full of tender, compassionate love. “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt!” Joseph displayed a wonderful example by how he encouraged his brothers and his complete forgiveness of them. Did you notice how he encouraged those guilty men by explaining God’s providence in the sequence of events? “But don’t be angry with yourselves, that you did this to me, for God did it!”

“With one sentence of assurance that he is their brother, he passes at once into that serene region where all passion and revenge die. The comfort which he addresses to their act of contrition would have been useless if it were spoken to men who were unaware of the enormity of their sinful past. But it will not make a truly repentant person less sensitive, though it may alleviate the aching of the wound, to think that God has used even their sins to accomplish His own purposes. It will not take away the sense of wickedness of their motive to know that a wonderful providence has rectified the consequences. It will rather deepen the sense of evil, and give new cause of adoration of the love that pardons the wrong, and the providence that neutralizes the harm.”

“Joseph takes the true point of view, which we are all bound to take when we practice the Christian grace of forgiveness. He looks beyond the mere human hate and envy to God’s divine purpose. The sword is theirs; the hand is Mine.’ He can even be grateful to his brothers who have unintentionally been his benefactors. He thinks of the good that has come out of their hatred, and his anger dies within him.”

“The highest attainment of all, the good for which he is grateful is not his-all-but-regal dignity but the power to save and cheer-up those who wanted him to be dead. That thought would have saddened him for many a long year. Those things that Joseph told his brothers is evidence of him being a pious man with a very gentle heart. “The fruit of sorrow and the expression of thoughts which had slowly grown up in his mind had now been there a long time.” That’s the only way Joseph had the ability to forgive his brothers.”

“Such a calm, certain grasp of the divine shaping and meaning of his life could not have sprung up all at once in him, as he looked at the conscience-stricken culprits cowering before him. He must have been living near the Fountain of all mercy to have such a full cup of it to offer. Because Joseph had caught a gleam of the divine pardon for his own sins, he became a mirror of it.” Who does Joseph resemble when we see him yearning to save his sin infested brothers for their sins?

Joseph was actually able to rejoice and persevere in the midst of his painful ordeal because he knew that each of those divinely ordained challenges was equipping him to save his entire family from starving to death. His love for them foreshadowed Christ’s love for all human beings and their forgiveness. You and I can and should also rejoice and persevere during our hard times. The great Apostle Paul explained it this way.

Romans 5:1-5 (TLB) 1 So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind are good for us to be. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us and—they help us learn to be patient! 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. Romans 5: 1-5 (TLB)

“The second part of Joseph’s conversation with them is the fact that Joseph longed to be reunited with his elderly father. That was his heart’s desire. The powerful ruler throws his dignity aside. He isn’t ashamed to tell the whole world that he’s the son of a lowly elderly shepherd anymore than a real son will always acknowledge his relationship to his father regardless of the man’s position in life.”

45: Genesis 9-15 (TLB) 9 “Hurry, return to my father and tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says, God made me chief of all the land of Egypt. Come down to me right away! 10 you shall live in the land of Goshen so that you can be near me with all your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have. 11-12 I will take care of you there.”’ (you men are witness of my promise , and my brother Benjamin has heard me say it) for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you will come to utter poverty along with all your household.”’ 13 Tell our father about all my power here in Egypt, and how everyone obeys me. And bring him to me quickly. 14 Then weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin and Benjamin began weeping too. 15 And he did the same with each of his brothers, who finally found their tongues. Genesis 45: 9-15 (TLB)

According to the Scriptures we just examined, Joseph obviously wanted to know if his father was dead or alive, and, if he was, Joseph wanted to be reunited with him. That seemed to be his heart’s desire. But that raises the question. Egypt wasn’t that far away. “If he really wanted to find out if his elderly father was still living, then why didn’t Joseph send him a message? With all of his vast power for the past thirteen years Joseph could have easily arranged a visit with the old man, but he didn’t. How about his father’s feelings? He knew that he was his father’s favorite son. He could imagine how devastated His father would have been when Joseph went missing. Why didn’t he tell the old man that he wasn’t dead? Doesn’t it seem very uncharacteristic of Joseph, a pious man who reminds us of Jesus Christ? Please raise your hand if you know the answer.”

The fact is that he could not have learned by any other means his brother’s true feelings, and whether or not they had been convicted by their conscience and were truly sorry for their crime. Joseph had to be silent and yearn that the time would come when the Providence of God would open the way. That was the awesome love that Joseph had for those sinners.”

“The message to Jacob is sent from ‘Your son Joseph.’ In essence, the powerful ruler laid his dignity at his father’s feet. No elevation in worldly status will ever make a true son forget his reference for his father. If he rise higher in the world, and has to acknowledge the existence of an old man living in some simple country home, for his father, he will be proud to do it. The enduring sanctity of the family ties is not the least valuable lesson from our narrative for our generation, where social conditions are so widely different in parents and in children. There is an affectionate spreading out of all his glory before his father’s old eyes. Not that he cared much about it for himself, since, as we have seen, elevation to him meant mainly very hard work, but because he knew how the eyes of his elderly father would glisten at the sight.” His mother, who would have been proud of him too, but,
Genesis 35:16-19 (TLB) 16 Leaving Bethel, he and his household traveled on toward Ephrath (Bethlehem). But Rachel’s pains of childbirth began while they were still a long way away. 17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Wonderful—another boy!” 18 And with Rachel’s last breath (for she died) she named him “Ben-oni” ( “Son of my sorrow”); but his father called him “Benjamin” ( “Son of my right hand”). 19 So Rachel died, and was buried near the road to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).

“But he has still the joy of making his father happy by the exhibition of his dignity. It speaks of a simple nature that has not been spoiled by prosperity. Joseph delighted in the things he knew his father delighted in and he wanted his father to know all about it. He wanted to share with him his entire sudden splendor. A man who takes great pleasure in his elevation up the ladder of success because of the good he can do by it, and because it will please the old people at home, must be a pure and lovable man. The command has another justification in the necessity to assure his father of the wisdom of so great a change. (Please pay close attention to what I will say next.) God had set him [Jacob] in the Promised Land, and a very plain divine command was needed to justify Jacob leaving it. That command was given to him sometime later by way of a vision.

I’m sorry but that’s all the time we have today. I hope I have been able to give you folks plenty of Biblical evidence of God’s never-ending activity.

Lord willing, Next week….