our worth: god's image

our worth: god's image

(just writing to a general audience this time)

If any two people could represent opposite ends of the spectrum, it's Debbie and I. I look at life, and go about my schedule in a random haphazard way. She approaches it with a steadfast order that rivals any administrator out there. I can make out the best laid plans, and charts, and yet within a day's time, be totally off the schedule. She struggles with seeing the whole overall plan, but excels in the details. She alphabetizes, organizes, and arranges items and schedules with an ease that amazes me. There isn't one area in my house, or life that runs by any sort of order or regularity. We are the true definition of opposites. I'm sure our names are under the examples of that word in the dictionary!

She has two children, and I have seven. Within those 9 humans we see 9 very different personalities and behaviors. Of course, there are similarities. The great minds of our times have come up with various ways to categorize personalities, and learning styles etc down to a workable few. But even with those limited combinations, there still are quite extreme opposites in the various ones. So what does it mean we are made in the image of God? Does God have a mulit-personality disorder? Ha, of course not! So, then what does it exactly mean?

{I'm not quite sure how to say this part.. so i'm going to ramble and edit it later!}

This is one of the most exciting 'discoveries' I have made this year. Who I am, not only the spiritual part, is a unique part of God's full personality. Debbie's tendencies, abilties, and personality is a representation of part of God's full personality. All of my randomness to the opposite pole of Debbie's orderlyness and everything inbetween make up the full personality of God. I do believe that's why he says to be a community; a body. Because when we split up, when we segregate, when we only fellowship with like minded people, we are missing out on part of who God is.

Think of it in terms of light. Shine a beam of light and you will see a just a plain, clear beam of light. Shine that same beam through a prisim and all of a sudden you see a rainbow. Use other means of looking at that light and you get an extreme array of colors ours eyes can see, and even more that we can't. And yet all these make up that one clear stream of light. All the variety of the light doesn't detract from what the light is; in fact, it makes up the full light. Take only one or two of the colors, or the other waves and you break the pure light down. And yet mix them all in and you get a seemlying endless amount of light, power, and color.

What does that mean for us? It means that everyone of us is needed and wanted exactly how we are, for exactly what we can offer, for exactly what we can accomplish to represent the fullness of God's image. Yes, God is a God of order, but He is also a God of randomness. If you have any doubt of that, just take one look at the platupus! God rarely deals with you and I in the same organized fashion. Rarely can we say, God did this last year, thus He will do it again this year and for years to come exactly the same way. Yes, God is immutable. Yes, God innate character is unchanging. But his actions vary, and His methods have changed over time. So, both of our personalities show the different parts of God.


There are some denominations that take the verse, "God is a God of order" and have created an idea of God that is one faceted. :God the Creator had a purpose and accomplished it; The God of order doesn't like chaos; The God of the Bible doesn't like randomness: They have taken that one verse and have made man-made laws or doctrines saying to be godly means we are always controlled and organized. Now these might be good goals to work towards but they don't repesent a more godly lifestyle than those who are more random. On the other swing of the pendulum are the groups who say that they won't make up any firm schedule or order of events in a church service because they want it to be fresh and ordered by the Holy Spirit. They look down on the literagy and orderly forms that other's have in their expression of worship. We need to get to a point, that as long as Jesus is glorified, the mode or method is just that... only a method. And in the bigger picture of things, each way points us to a part of God's attributes.

Your worth is secure because at the base of every action, every disposition, every personality trait, is a portioned representation of God himself. This is one reason we as limited humans, will never fully understand God. Because he is so mulitfaceted and seemingly opposite that our minds can't comprehend it. But without you, without your personlity, without the traits that you have and express; without that part God wouldn't be full. Just as the light would be less if the color blue was missing, heaven forbid, the full representation of God would be missing without the part that you represent

Our worth

Our worth

The Basics

Our worth: Based on God’s love for us:

This is a hard one to write because, as much as it's true, when you are low, feeling alone, and worthless this is a very hard truth to grasp. The first thought often is, "If God loves me, why is He allowing/doing this to me? Why, if He is my Salvation, doesn't He save me out of this situation? Why does He choose to let me hurt?"
The answer, if not based on the Truth of the Bible comes back in a few different forms.

1. God must not be totally ‘for’ me
2. I must not be worth Him protecting me
3. He must not be able to protect me, thus not as powerful as I thought
4. He must not be as good as I thought
5. He’s not a personal God, thus my problems aren’t big enough for Him to notice.

All of those statements come back to challenge the deity or the attributes of God.

1. God is omniscient: He knows what is going on. He fully encompasses not only the universe, but the workings of each atom. You are not escaping his notice. Every movement, every thought, every decision is completely at his attention. When it comes to him noticing you, He has tunnel vision and ‘only’ sees you.
2. God is omnipresent: He is everywhere. At the very outer edges of the universe, to the depths of the ocean to the darkest hellhole in the earth. He says He will never leave you. He says there is no where you can escape His love. He Is With You.
3. God is omnipotent: There is nothing He can’t do. No rock he can’t move. No problem He can’t fix. No situation beyond His hand. Nothing has jurisdiction above Him. He is supreme and every atom pays homage to Him. No one, no demon, no principalities or dominions have any ability to accomplish anything without His permission.
4. God is Love: I chose this attribute because it balances out a lot of our ‘fears’ of God. It’s not that God has love, or can love us; He IS Love. Whatever we can grasp about human love, whatever our weak definitions of love are, He surpasses them all. Thus, there is nothing He can allow, or do that isn’t totally enveloped in Love.
5. God will be glorified: Everything that God allows is to bring His church to a closer imitation of His Son, and to glorify Himself. He will not sacrifice one for the other. Both will be accomplished. Because these two goals are the primary motivation for God through love, sometimes the situations He allows seem to hurt and be totally contrary to His nature to allow. But we can be assured by understanding all these attributes of God, that He will not waste someone on a situation, or a situation on a person. Every action, purpose and situation is orchestrated to work His plans.

These represent only a fraction of the attributes that are found through out the Bible describing God. But I will use these to explain my ideas. How does understanding these truths show me that I’m worth something or that God loves me? Sometimes even if someone shows you truth it still comes down to deciding to believe it. Sometimes seeing it logically and accepting it even if it doesn’t seem like it, is the way we have to walk through tough times. God is love with not one drop of darkness in Him. He can’t do evil, He can’t do things spitefully to hurt us, and He can’t just ‘teach us a lesson’. When the Bible says that God loves you, it’s with the purest type of Love there ever has been. As we’ve stated, He is intimately aware of every facet of your life, coupled that with pure love and the motivation to bring you closer to Him and bring Himself Glory, we can rest assured that even in the midst of the wildest storms, whether in real life, or in our minds, He is holding it all together.

ii. Our image is part of God’s character no matter who we are

iii. Our value is intrinsic

Love

i. Fall in love with God- the more He’s real in your heart, the more you’ll see your worth.

ii. Even if no one else agrees, or loves you.. love yourself.

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Comment from a friend about this section:
*julie* says:
this is the first point under the heading 'our worth'..
Lyd says:
I like how you flow everything together. You have a great writing style that's easy to understand
Lyd says:
for a book, though, something like this begs to be expanded
*julie* says:
haha.. i was thinking htat too.. that this might need to be the intro to a fuller chapter..
Lyd says:
yeah
Lyd says:
there's tons of stuff to cover in the whole God loving us for His glory
*julie* says:
which is scarey.. because i'm not sure I have the knowledge to expand it fully..
Lyd says:
um...philosophically you probaly don't need more
*julie* says:
sometimes what i 'know' is just by faith...and hard to put into words.
Lyd says:
Stories and examples would probably do it
*julie* says:
ah.. good point.
Lyd says:
I felt you said everything necessary there
Lyd says:
it was all tied together, simple, deep, and easy to understand
Lyd says:
it's just dead, though, you know
Lyd says:
I have no pictures or images in my head to anchor it to
*julie* says:
ah... interesting..

Life Choices

When you're presented with a new situation, how do you know whether it's the right way to go or not? Do you trust your gut instincts or do you weigh all the pros and cons? If you pray, how do you know which way God is directing you to go? People use words such as 'confirmation', 'peace' and 'fleeces' (biblical reference) when they are discussing how they came to such and such decision.

So then you decide to go for it or choose that way to go. Maybe you put your money on the line or maybe your reputation or self respect. There's the initial hope that you understood the situation correctly and that the future won't prove your choice wrong. The hope that invades you seems to prove everything right.

But what do you do when that choice or road you took completely turns your life upside down? What do you do when the results or lack of them are because of the actions of someone else? Sometimes it's not because of someone but maybe just a wrong calculation or misinformation. How do you continue on and not blame yourself for the misfortune? Do you end up blaming the other person so that you feel vindicated? None of the answers are easy. Life is just not guaranteed.

I'm working through some issues that I have gotten very frustrated about. Choices that have been made over the last 20 years are coming to affect me. To be perfectly honest, some of the results are because of choices I made and ways I did or didn't respond correctly to the situation. So I am somewhat paying for those choices. What is hardest are the situations and pain that I have to deal with because of choices and decisions that others have made that have affected me. Even if those actions weren't maliciously done, the actions still come to haunt me. Trying to live through the results of their actions without anger or resentment is one of the hardest things I have to do. The next hardest thing is learning to trust people again. Maybe I don't have to... I'm not totally sure of that one.

What has happened, I have found, is two-fold. One side of it is that I have lost my child-like trust in people's decisions and in life in general. I'm not depressed or negative... just very cynical. But on the positive side I feel like it will be harder to take I in the next time and I'll be more in control of what happens to me. I have finally learned to stand up for myself and not live according to someone else expectations. I have found that I have very unorthodox ideas that wouldn't fit in with the conservative crowd if the truth be known. But the freedom I feel being totally me is intoxicating at times. Obviously, I understand that I can't control life and I can't control the actions of others. But being who I want to be is a type of control that I see I can have.
Someone talked to me recently about being encouraged and hopeful about the future. I was happy for that person- told them that I was glad they were hopeful- but in regards to how those hopes would affect me, I choose not to hold onto that hope. Holding onto some hope just because someone else is hopeful goes against everything I think these days. If their hope comes to fruition, then I will see it myself. If it doesn't then I won't feel like I was taken in again.

I am finding I'm holding on to right "now" more though. I know what I have right now... I know who I am right now. If God deems it good to give me what others hope for, then tomorrow I will see it and can be happy then. It's making me appreciate the totally wonderful things and people that I have today... not worrying about what will be there tomorrow. I can not hope for things that I have no control over. It feels like I am cheating myself of future security. Like I’m just setting myself up for a let down. I do have some hope... I can't let go of it completely. But being content with who I have in my life right now, and where I am right now is far more fulfilling.

Disneyland

Of all places on earth that kids desire to go to this has got to rank near the top. Obviously, that's the whole point of the design; to create a dreamland that kids can live out their imagination at. While I was growing up we seemed to be able to frequent DL several times. I think the few things that were around back then that still hold kids attention would be the Materhorn, the Haunted House, The Skytram, and driving your own car on those tracks. There probably were a few others but they weren't the main attractions.

So by the time we had three kids we decided to take them on their first trip to Disneyland. Morgan was 5, Jesse, 3 and Cory 1 1/2. We were quite brave now that I think about it in terms of their age but we went with Jim's folks so we thought we had it all covered. We started out on the wrong foot from the moment we entered into the place. Jim and I figured we would have our own fun and the kids would tag along and enjoy whatever we did. So what did we decided to do first? We gave the two youngest to the grandparents to watch for a while.. and took Morgan on the Starwars ride.

If you haven't been on this ride I'll explain it to you. Entering the building and walking through the mazes works pretty much the same as most rides. The difference with this one is that the ride never moves. You enter into a Space shuttle type vehicle that seats probably 30 people in rows of about 6. A bar comes down and straps you in tight. Then a screen opens up in front and C3PO is standing there talking to you about your trip to some planet. The whole thing from there on is a movie with moving seats. They make the contraption move and shake just as if you were actually moving.

My first inkling that this was the wrong ride to take Morgan on was right at the beginning when the movie started and it felt and looked like we were moving. She had big huge eyes while she said, "Where are we going?" Right after that question the movie showed we were going to fly down this steep incline and she started to scream. I held her.. she screamed... I didn't even get to see the movie because I was trying to keep her from seeing it.

After that we decided to calm her down and do something more mundane.. like Michael Jackson's Movie. Of course it was 3-D and at one point soon into the movie, he reached his arm out to the audience and she screamed.. So I didn't get to watch that movie either and took her outside. She would have absolutely nothing to do with any rides after that for hours. I think we finally convinced her to ride Dumbo later on.
The littler ones couldn't ride too many themselves so needless to say.. the day consisted of lots of walking around.. and not many rides. Tom Sawyers tree-house proved to be a salvation playground!
We did get a break later on that night when the grandparents stayed in the hotel with the sleeping kids and we ran back to actually go on some of our own rides.
We haven't been back since. Maybe now that we are moving to CA we can manage to go back and actually have a good day.

Under ageless sky
Pondering this stone's decay
My mortality

There are some people that you know forever.. and some people come and go quickly through your life. Jackie was one of those who only were in my life for a few years and yet she still holds a piece of my heart.

We met during 8^th grade but I can’t remember exactly how. In fact, after we were best friends, neither of us could remember how we met. All I remember is every day we would pass each other going to third period and we had this contest to see who could kick the other one first. It was really beneath me to do such an odd game but it seemed like the only connection we had. We would laugh and kick, and then slightly get mad at the other one for kicking so hard.

By the second week, seeing that my shins had tons of bruises on them I called a truce. She gladly conceded the game and after that we were best friends. Odd how those kinds of connections are made. I don’t remember having her in any of my classes but we must have somewhere. I only remember walking with her down hallways to various classes and having a locker near hers.

She was so different than I was which created another amazing fact that we got along. I was a young Christian that had standards but wasn’t preachy, and she was one of the ‘hoods’. You know the type.. they would go out to the woods at breaks to smoke cigarettes or joints. I don’t remember ever feeling judgmental towards her for having such a different lifestyle even though it was not something I wanted. Obviously she trusted me too.

I don’t remember ever talking to her about my faith or what I stood for. But somehow she just knew I was different and I think somehow it frustrated her even though she accepted it. I knew she smoked weed, and so one day she asked if I wanted to try it. I smiled and said no, while in my mind the idea flashed through making me wonder if I should. She continued her requesting saying that if I tried it once she wouldn’t ask me again. The more she asked, though, the more stubborn I became. We were right there in the middle of the hallway at school, with kids walking by us watching her get down on her knees begging me to try it once. By then I was laughing at her and she was laughing at me. I never did try it and she was fine with that.

One afternoon after PE I had decided to not shower completely and left my hair to wash later. Jackie walked up to me and asked me if my hair was wet. “No” I replied, “It’s just grease from not washing it today.” She died laughing. We continued along the hallway while she stopped every other person asking them if they thought my hair was wet, and then proceeded to laugh while informing them it was not wet.. only greasy! I never let another day in my life pass without clean hair, even to this day due to that incident.

Due to the fact that she was a ‘hood’ it was in her requirements to be rowdy in class and thus got detention regularly. One such day she was frustrated by the action because she said /this/ time it wasn’t her fault. I told her I would ride our horse up to the campus after detention and let her ride. Our property was situated some distance behind the school, but close enough to ride the horse up. That was a excellent afternoon riding around the football field with her.

She was a person I looked up to for worldly information though. She had the boyfriends, even if they were at times a whole foot shorter than her. She was making out in front of the buses saying goodbye to her boyfriend while I stood on the sideline watching and wondering when I would get a boyfriend to say goodbye to. After one such time she walked up and I boldly asked if she had been ‘frenching’ him. She laughed and said, “Yeah.. and I think he was chewing gum!” That was the epitome of grossness but still much cooler than not having a boyfriend at all.

She was never able to do things after school with me as she always had to head home to baby-sit her siblings. They lived in the poorest section of town that had the reputation of drugs and abuse. She hated her home life and felt totally used by her single mother which might have been a reason she choose to get detention and not have to go home every night. She never had a day off, or even a weekend free, unless it was only for the friends in the neighborhood. The mom had to work, or go overnight with her various guys. I don’t think they had much food as she was always thin and hardly had money for lunch ever. She said smoking pot helped her not be hungry.

Billy Graham came to town and I invited Jackie to come with us. She came and seemed to listen through the sermon. Afterwards, during the invitation, she asked what they were passing out down on the field. I explained they were giving out bibles and study guides for those who wanted to follow Jesus. She asked if we could go down there to see what was going on and talk to the people. I told her that she shouldn’t if she wasn’t serious, which dampened her mood and so she said.. nevermind. I regretted what I had said for a long time after that.

By night grade my folks had decided to move down to the Dominican Republic after Dad’s retirement so that he could be a principal at a private school down there. One of the only times I remember Jackie coming over to my house was during the time we were preparing to leave. She helped me pack up and threw tons of things out that I thought I needed, and she decided I didn’t. As odd things go, she is the one that taught me that Jesus wasn’t actually born on Christmas, and also how to move my feet while I danced. I actually asked my mom if we could take Jackie to the DR with us, and although my mom said sure, Jackie’s mom said she needed her to baby sit.

We left for the DR and Jackie and I exchanged letters every once in a while. Actually, I wrote her frequently and once in a while she would write me back. The letters were always missing me, and telling me that her life was still the same. Until one letter that she wrote explaining she had been to a church, and had given her life to Jesus. I was amazed and excited for her. I didn’t hear much from her after that during that year.

When I came home for the summer I looked her up. She wasn’t living at home anymore and none of our mutual friend knew where she had gone to. I tried for several weeks to find her. I called so many different people and numbers and yet no one had any specific news about her. I drove to the store with my brother and had a small conversation with God on the way and while I sat in the car while he went into the store. I asked him to just take care of her and keep her safe. I guess I just gave her to Him in a way. No more than two minutes after I finished that conversation, I looked up and there she was walking down the sidewalk in front of our car. I jumped out of the car and yelled at her. What a fun reunion. She said she would come over to my house the next day, explained where she lived, and gave me her number. I waited all day long and she never showed up so I finally called her. She was living with her boyfriend and said that he hadn’t wanted her to leave. So, kicking myself for not taking the initiative first,

I went over to see her the very next day. We sat on her bed and talked about her life, running away from home, living with her boyfriend, and trying to walk with Jesus as best as she could. We hugged each other and cried. Her boyfriend looked at us suspiciously from the other room which made us laugh and cry all the more! She was still skinny and still smoking pot. She informed me that she usually just lived on candy bars and a coke during the day.

After that day we promised to stay in touch and I would have gone back to see her again but we were leaving to go back to the DR in the next week. That was the last time I saw her. We did write a few times to each other during that year, and at the summer I was so very excited to try and look her up. I was living at my sisters at the time and was calling around to see if I could find her. I talked to my one sister about it and told her how frustrating it was trying to connect. She asked me to come with her into my bedroom and she closed the door. She sat down beside me on the bed and handed me a newspaper clipping. She said she didn’t know how else to tell me.

The clipping told how a young girl Jackie Plante, of Kent, age 16 had been hitch-hiking and had been raped and murdered. They had found her bones in a patch of woods up near where her mom used to live. I cried.

I still miss you Jackie!

so here's my second attempt at a first draft now that I've gotten more into the Bird by Bird book..

One of my very favorite memories is our old barn as a child. it was huge.. as tall as a 2 story house. I'm not sure how long it had been there by the time I was 8 but I'm guessing fairly long. The roof was still intact enough to keep several hundred bales of hay dry. But the walls were worn down and parting so that cracks were visible between some of the planks.
There was an overhang out side of the back of the barn where the cows would amble up to eat. There was a small area where you could stay inside the barn and throw them a section of the hay. The whole barn smelled of the dusty hay, dirt floor, manure from outside and the musty smell of the cows themselves. it was such a pleasant earthy smell and very comforting.

The barn was situated a good 500 ft away from any other house or building so once you were inside the huge barn doors, you felt isolated from the world. On sunny days I would escape there, and if it was near summer there would be a couple tons of hay in there. I would climb to the top and just lay there watching the dust and the hay float around in the streams of sunshine that came through some of the cracks in the walls, or through the hay window in the loft. I was totally alone but never felt lonely there. I would imagine God laying there beside me just enjoying the smells, and the streams of light. 'We' would watch the swallows darting in and out either making nests on the top rafter or feeding their babies. I was able to talk to Him easily there with no interruptions, and no feeling of pressure to be someone I wasn't.
The hay felt itchy but warm and the sounds of the birds and an occasional bee made for one of the most peaceful places I retreated to as a child.

(Well, not necessarily better.. but I did remember more details...lol)

Definitely a Sh.. first draft lol

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I’m lying on the top of a huge pile of hay-bales. There are probably over 100 bales in this old barn. I’m 8 years old and this is one of my favorite places to be alone. Even though it’s old, the roof is still sturdy with no cracks in it.. making a dry place for this hay. There is a huge doorway with a hayloft at the top. It usually is open so the sun streams through there. There is so much dust and hay in the air that the sun can catch it and create long beams in through the window.

Everything is quiet. I can’t hear any traffic, or activities at the house. Once in a while a random bee breaks the silence as it tries to find a way back outside.

The top beam is the perfect place for swallow’s nests. They dip and dive through the barn as they come and go from these nests. I could lie here and watch them all day. The cows come near the barn to eat so their smell mixes with the hay and the manure in an earthy smell that is familiar and comforting.

It was so quiet... and the sun would come through the big doorway... and make that stream in the dust...

Memory #2

It was either 1965 or 1968 and either around the month of April or June. I was in the front room of our large house. The room had a large sliding glass door looking out onto our back yard which had some grass on it but not many trees at that time. The reason I list both dates is that those were the date when I was little that major earthquakes hit Seattle. The one in 65 was registered at a 6.5 level.. and the one in 68 was a 4.6. With those numbers, I am leaning toward the idea that it occurred in 65 even though I would have only been 3 at the time.

As the house began to shake and move, I remember my mom calling me over to the sliding glass doors. We stood just to the side of the doors, but close enough that we could look outside. She bent over me and held me close as we watched the land outside move.

There were actually ripples in the ground; waves of grass moving toward the house. I had no fear and there were no major sounds that usually accompany earthquakes.

Other things I remember about that moment was that mom was thin.. and had dark hair. Two things that didn’t happen very often as I was growing up. She had some type of cotton shirt on and peddle pushers with loafers on her feet.

Amazing what you can remember from just 3 years of age.

Childhood Memories

#1

The basis of some of my memories are a mix of memory of the real thing.. and seeing pictures that remind me of them.

When I was four I went to live for a week with Grandma Wilson while my mom went for some surgery at the hospital. She lived in a little house behind the Catholic School in Renton. Aunt Mary, being slightly retarded, still lived with her. I don’t remember doing much that week with either of them. I have vague memories of Aunt Mary walking around saying ‘No’ before and after any sentence she said so I think she rather scared me at that age.

It must have been a pleasant week as I don’t have any memory of crying. I can only remember wearing a dress but not anyone dressing me. I wandered around her house looking at all her trinkets. She had them everywhere. The house was rather dark, and every shelf and table had some kind of object on it..usually several. One thing she had that fascinated me was a wooded box with various drawers in it. I would spend many minutes at a time looking into each drawer and replacing the little objects in it.

It must have been arranged for me to call every evening to see if Mom was back home or not. After those calls I would feel rather empty and lonely but I don’t’ remember crying. By the end of the week when I called Mom was finally home. I was so excited to be going home the next day. I don’t remember who came to get me although I assume it was Dad. I wore a dress with a suit type coat over it.

I walked into the house calling, “Mom’ as I went down the long hallway stopping at the corner to the front-room. I peeked my head around the corner and looked right down the next hallway. The turning to the left I saw her trying to hide against the wall smiling huge. I ran into her arms. That was one time I felt very secure with her.

Chapter 2: Is God In Control?

1 Tim 6:15

After witnessing tragedy in his own life, Rabbi Harold Kushner makes comments about in his well known book titled: When Bad Things Happen To Good People.

Rabbi Kushner concludes that the author of the book of Job was "forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good. Rabbi, chose to believe in God’s goodness".

Rabbi Harold: "God wants the righteous to live peaceful, happy lives, but sometimes even He can't bring it about. It is too difficult even for God to keep cruelty and chaos from claiming their innocent victims."

Many, Like the Rabbi, have the same assumption and call any misfortune chance or Fate:
They falsely believe that:

If God is both powerful and good, why is there so much suffering?

God is either good and not all powerful, or He is powerful and not all good.

They think you can't have it both ways.

Providence

Bible teaches both; theologians call it The Providence of God.

Some misunderstandings of it:

Often referred as such when good things happen or work together right.

Rarely does one say bad things that happen are the providence of God.

Unconsciously or deliberately imply God intervenes in sporadic intervals in our lives.

We wrongly assume we are victims of circumstances, uncaring people or our own mistakes.

Historically seen as God's care and governance of all creation

J.L. Packer: The unceasing activity of the Creator, where by, in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory. (underlined words to emphasize absolute terms)

Author's condensed version: God's providence is His constant card for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people.

Two fold objective: His own glory and the good of His people.

These two are always in harmony- never pursues His glory at the expense of the good of His people nor visa versa.

Comfort and encouragement to understand that in the midst of adversity:

God will not allow any thing to subvert His glory

God will not allow any thing to subvert the good he is working in us.

Answers the question "Can you trust God?"

God Sustains

God not only created the universe, but also sustains it. Heb 1:3/ Col 1:17

Noting exists of its own inherent power

He sustains the world

All of the various forces of this world continue because he wills it.

Stars continue in their course because of him Is. 40:26

He gives life to everything Neh. 9:6

Supplies rain and causes growth, provides for animals. Ps. 147:8-9

Sustains you and me

Gives all men breath 'In Him we live, and move and have our being' Acts 17:25-28

Daily food 2 Cor 9:10

Our times Ps 31:15

God Governs

Ruler of all things 1 Chron 29:12

Only Ruler 1 Tim 6:15

He does as He pleases Dan 4:35

No one is outside of God's sovereign will.

Augustine: "Nothing happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen or He brings it about himself."

As God's rule is invincible it's also incomprehensible. Is 55:9/ Rom. 11:33

We often question God's sovereignty because we don't understand His ways or thoughts

God or Chance?

Thus, divine providence: God sustaining and governing His universe, bringing all events to their appointed end.

Most people, especially non-Christians rule both of these out.

One book on managing crisis says: You should view and plan for the inevitability of a crisis.. out of the strength that comes from knowing you are prepared to face life and play the hand that fate deals you…

Rabbi Kushner gives more examples of randomness in the universe and this world. He claims it is the result of luck.

He also refers to the statement of 'Acts of God' as taking God's name in vain as all of nature is morally blind, and without value. Thus any act by 'it' is purely by chance.

Many Christians also hold to a doctrine saying God is sovereign but chooses not to exercise it daily in our lives. Thus, we are subjected to pain and suffering.

This author does agree that we are subjected to sin, pain and suffering, but not because God has chosen not to be sovereign, but that He is sovereign over all areas.

Just as He is sovereign over the sparrow, he is over all minute details of our lives, no matter what it appears as.

Blasphemous statement by someone: Chance is the pseudonym that God uses when He'd rather not sign His own name.

Good But Not Sovereign

Many believe now-a-days that God is good but not sovereign. They can not understand how a loving God could allow pain or suffering so they’re conclusion is that God is frustrated by it as much as we are. He cries along side us due to His inability to change the situation.

i. "No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"' Dan. 4:35 Our belief in God has to come from the Bible, not our interpretation of our situation.

It's not an easy doctrine to believe these days. Raw reality assaults this comforting and optimistic belief.

Summary of Chapt. 2: All people experience frustration and hardship; some minor, and some catastrophic. But we have the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all powerful and all knowing God.