Article: Providence Fund! | Roy E. Joy

You know what Provident Fund (PF) is. PF is an investment fund voluntarily established by employers and employees to serve as long term savings to support an employee’s retirement. But what do I mean by ‘Providence Fund’? I mean it is God’s caring, concern and providing food and clothing for us. It is the protective care of God. It is the divine guidance in time of need. It is also God’s influence and control over our lives. Believe the providence of God is there always to take care of you and lead you to green pastures. You may not find the phrase ‘Providence Fund’ elsewhere. I just coined it to talk about the providence of God and also to rhyme it or alliterate it with Provident Fund.

Just for your information, when I searched Google for the meaning of Providence this is what I found there.
1. The protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power.
2. Timely preparation for future eventualities. Online Merriam-Webster dictionary says,
1. Divine guidance or care.
2. God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny.

The Lord our God is a loving person. He is the one who provides all our needs. He guides us and cares for us. You will see the acts of Providence in every area of your life. Believe that God does not make mistakes. I am trying to write a few things from the Bible when God takes charge of us. Let us see the providence of God.

God’s Sovereignty:
As a sovereign he rules over his covenant people. We see his power and authority in his actions. God sovereignly works all things according to his will (Eph. 1.11). God’s sovereign rule extends over all things (Ps. 103.19; Acts 17.28; Rom. 11.36). God sovereignly works out his plans, good, pleasing and perfect will. No one can hinder or stop him (Pro. 1.4; Ps. 135.6). God has sovereignly planned what shall come to pass and he sovereignly carries out his plans (Isa. 46.10-13). Salvation is the great providential work of God. The sovereignty of God is revealed in the grace that you and I received. Sovereign grace of God enabled you and me to accept salvation. You and I are saved by faith. Hallelujah!

Sovereign Provisions:
The God who cares for the birds and the flowers certainly will, then, care for his children (Matt. 6.25-34). God controls all the forces of nature and provides for all his creatures, especially his children (Ps. 104; 145; 147). By sending his people manna from heaven each day, God revealed his faithfulness, power and love (Ex. 16). Do you remember how God used ravens to care for Elijah (1 Ki. 17.1-6)? Believe, not one of God’s promises goes unfulfilled (Jos. 23.14). These examples show the great providence of God. Do you ever wonder how you will have enough money to pay for certain things? I heard a servant of God who talked about his marriage and family. When he was about to be married he wondered how he would find provisions for both of them. God provided all their needs. When they had kids he worried about the skyrocketing of school fees and other expenses. God was there in time to help him, he believed. When kids went to college he had no reserve money in hand to pay the exorbitant college fees. God opened miraculous ways to pay the fees. Today when he looks back his heart is filled with gratitude because of God’s providence on time. Many of us can relate to this story, I believe. It is God who gives rain. Pray for rain in time of need (Zec. 10.1).

Divine Providence and Leading
God blesses those who by faith take refuge in him. The whole book of Ruth reveals this very beautifully. Naomi and Ruth were taken care of miraculously. God faithfully cares for us as a shepherd cares for his sheep (Ps. 23). The story of Jonah strikingly reveals God’s control over our lives (Jon. 1.17; 4.6-8). I saw a cartoon in which Jonah wrote a book titled, ‘How to Run Away from God?’ In the book he just wrote, “Do not!” God fed him and taught him a lesson how he cares for everyone. Joseph acknowledged God’s providence in being sold into slavery (Gen. 45.1-14). God prepared Joseph to become governor over Egypt. Such acts of God reveal his personal involvement in the lives of his children (Acts 7.9,10). The hand of God was on Nehemiah, that is why King Artaxerxes granted his requests (Neh. 2.4-9).

Providential Hands in Special Wisdom:
Moses was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt so that he could lead the children of Israel (Acts 7.20-22). Nobody ever in history led a community out of their land like Moses did. We see his wise decisions and God’s hands behind that. God gave Daniel and his three friends special wisdom to fulfill his purposes. There you see how God works for his children (Dan. 1.17; 6.3). Daniel and his friends were spectacular among the Babylonians. The Babylonians were so jealous of them. They thought they had upper hands over them. But they fell prey to their own false wisdom. All because God’s hands were with Daniel and friends.
Perfectly Sovereign, Wonderfully Good—Death and Life
“The Lord sets the day of your birth, the day of your death, and he ordains everything that comes to pass in between. He uses everything and wastes nothing. There are no accidents with God, only incidents.” I read the story of a man who lost his wife of hardly three years. This Christian explained his pain. He did not complain against God but it was difficult for him to accept that his wife is no more. But God became a good and perfect friend to him. Thus he overcame the loss. Have you ever thought about Jesus’ death? Jesus experienced the maximum injustice before dying. Judas Iscariot, Pilate, Herod, Jews and Gentiles were behind his death. But his death was already planned by God. Crucifixion was God’s eternal decision (Luke 22.22; Acts 4.27,28).
You and I are stewards of God and when Providence is so kind to you in your life with provisions, protections and guidance. Just be faithful in all you do. Remember that God’s resources will never be finished. If you and I work according to God’s will we will never lack the fund for it. Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” God’s providence has a touch of mystery which doesn’t mean you and I don’t need to trust in the Lord every day to work for him and live in the world. Trusting in the Lord is not going to be an easy task anyway. Anyway trust in Him. You’ll be blessed.
I am going to be a fool, and write something about myself. Perhaps it may tell something about Providence. I was working with the ‘Operation Mobilisation’ (OM) team in Samastipur, Bihar. We came there from Sonepur after working in Sonepur Mela (cattle fair). But our time in Samastipur was very difficult. We had a Toyota truck with us for our work and it had to go down to Ranchi, our office for its paperwork, repair, servicing, etc. We requested local Christians for bicycles to use in our ministry. We got three bicycles and we were seven or eight in our team. Our way of living by faith had to find money for food from the sales of New Testaments, gospel packets, Christian books, etc. We received very little sales and our survival became difficult. Coupled with that me being the team leader became sick and could not cycle around with my brothers. So I remained home most days cooking food. One fine day I was so discouraged and almost decided to quit the ministry and go home to Kerala. There were so many crows around crowing, flying and doing all sorts of intrusions. Did they impact me? I don’t know. Anyway, nothing seemed bright for me at that time. But Providence had some other plans, I think. A Christian aunty came with a bag of Atta 5 kg and some vegetables and also a gift of Rs. 100/- Before leaving she told me that she is praying for our ministry. She was not a wealthy lady. The food items were just enough for us, for some days. My heart melted and felt that God did not forget me and the team. I decided to continue working there. Her arrival to see me was providential, I believe.
Our time to leave for Siwan approached. I went around looking for a mini lorry to carry our goods and literature. I understood the money in hand was not enough for travel charges. So, I knocked on the doors of ADJ (Additional District Judge), a Christian to ask for help. He told me, “Let us meet the Samastipur SP” (Superintendent of Police), also a Christian. SP asked me, “What do you want?” I said, “Sir, I need a mini lorry to carry our goods to Siwan.” SP, “When do you want it?” I told him the date of travel. He told me that he will arrange a vehicle for me. On the day of travel a lorry came to our campus with a gun wielding policeman. We were surprised at the presence of the policeman because we never requested for a police officer. The presence of policeman was a protection for us all the way to Siwan. On the way we had to cross several bridges with toll tax. The policeman will tell them, “Yeh, Samastipur SP ka maal hai” (these are the goods of Samastipur SP). We crossed all bridges without paying toll tax. We laughed and thanked God for the provision of the lorry and policeman, for we had very less money in hand. More challenges were waiting for me in Siwan but I knew that God is with us for sure. Is this incident the providence of God? To me it is very much the hands of Providence. This story took place years ago in 1992 in the terrible summer days of Bihar.
In all these the providence of God is so wonderful. Your life will become a wonder for yourself and for others when you move on by the help of the Lord. To me the ‘Providence Fund’ is God’s caring hand upon you and me in times of need and his guidance and protection. Hallelujah!

Bibliography
1. Provident Fund definition is taken from Google.
2. I used ‘Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling’ by John G. Kruis, for the Scripture references and some statements used along with that.
3. I used a quotation from an online article. Online source was not taken.

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