When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19
“When that light of divine providence has once shone upon a godly man, he is then relieved and set free not only from the extreme anxiety and fear that were pressing him before, by from every care. For as he justly dreads fortune, so he fearlessly dares to commit himself to God. His solace, I say, is to know that his Heavenly Father so holds all things in His power, so rules by His authority and will, so governs by His wisdom, that nothing can befall except He determine it.
Moreover it comforts him to know that he has been received into God’s safekeeping and entrusted to the care of His angels, and that neither water, nor fire, nor iron can harm him, except in so far as it pleases God as governor to give them occasion…
Whence, I pray you, do they have this never-failing assurance but from knowing that, when the world appears to be aimlessly tumbled about, the Lord is everywhere at work, and from trusting that His work will be for their welfare? Now if their welfare is assailed either by the devil or by wicked men, then indeed, unless strengthened through remembering and meditating upon providence, they must needs quickly faint away.”
John Calvin (1509-1564) in Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960) 224. I want to thank my mom, Patsy Hoag, who recently went through heart surgery, for alerting me to today’s quote! She too is thankful for divine providence!
As I think about the intersection between generosity and providence I realize that what God cares about is not how much we give, but what we do not give that shows where we place our trust. If we give either a little or a lot but we also hold back much, we reveal that our trust is not in divine providence but in ourselves.
Conversely, the one who “fearlessly dares to commit himself [or herself] to God” has a solace, and the God who sees all, knows this! Sure “the world appears to be aimlessly tumbled about” but that is no reason to put your trust in yourself. Yea verily, that means people of “never-failing assurance” who trust in God are needed all the more to shine light in these dark times!
Let’s follow Calvin’s advice, lest we too “quickly faint away.” God, make us fearless givers who are filled with comfort and joy because we remember and meditate on divine providence! This is my prayer today as I fly to Indianapolis for meetings on Monday and Tuesday linked to the new initiatives ECFA is rolling out for churches. Exciting stuff!