What Providence Has Gone and Done

Out here in reality-even here i am amazed, startled. Your love is enormous. And NOTHING can separate me.

“I have become absolutely convinced that nothing in God’s whole world has any power to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord.”

And something in me questions Paul.

Nothing, Paul? What about death?
“No. Not death.”
Life?
“No, not life.”
What happens today?
“Nope.”
Tomorrow?
“Nope.”
A power from on high?
“No power from on high or below.”
Anything else in God’s whole world?
“Nothing else whatsoever. Absolutely nothing.”
Well Paul, i think you forgot something.
“Did I?”
Matters of the heart. i’ll take the floggings and the persecution-those are the things we are supposed to bear for Christ. But what if he doesn’t notice me? What if i am rejected?
“Oh. I never thought of that.”

i don’t think so. That isn’t the answer the apostle would give. Like he would have forgotten the terrors and pitfalls love brings. (Said with deep sarcasm)Because of course if he had thought of them, he would not have been able to say “in all these things we win an overwhelming victory.” He’d have said “nor anything else except my poor broken heart, my miserable bad luck, has any power to separate me from the love of God.” He’d have added that God can take care of the big things-Paul had plenty of proof of that.
Perhaps matters of the heart would seem like little things to Paul. i have a hunch they would. Well then-what about those? Can they put me beyond His love?

The point (and i have one) is that i must learn to trust in little things, even what may seem like silly things, if i am ever going to be privileged to suffer in the big things.
“The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted also in great; and the man who is dishonest in little things is dishonest also in great things. If, then, you have not proved trustworthy with the wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real?”

Shipwrecks, floggings, physical pain, yes, those i would call suffering, but not a hurting heart. However, it’s no use trying to measure suffering. What matters is making the right use of it, taking advantage of the sense of helplessness it brings to turn my thoughts to God. Trust is the lesson.

Jesus loves me, this i know-not because He does just what i’d like, but because the Bible tells me so. Calvary proves it. He loved me and gave Himself for me.

And that’s what Providence has gone and done. Gloria Dios.