Introduction: One of the greatest struggles most Christians have is how they can know that God is the one who is guiding their life. Why is something that is so basic so hard to grasp. We ask questions about God’s guidance in our life usually when we encounter things that are not as we thought they would be. Those instances involve pain, challenge, doubt and fear. Most of us are far enough along in our journey to know that our life isn’t left to chance. Yet to say that God is in charge and demonstrating that practically in our life is another issue. The Bible is an intensely practical book. Therefore because it is practical we who handle it have the responsibility of showing just how practical it really is. That’s what we want to do today as we talk about the providence of God.

What is "providence"? Providence is God’s guiding what he has made toward what he desires using the ways he has chosen. The passage we view this morning has words that are extremely controversial, deep in their concepts, and crucial to our faith. Yet they are in the context of a very practical teaching. What Paul writes he writes for life, not for a creed or a confession. Paul writes to these Roman Christians about God’s providence in their lives. He writes about providence to give them strength in their own purposeful pain or suffering. He has said words like these, " And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later." (Romans 8:17-18) The words he uses are not to be taken from their setting but left in context to say to persons then and now: God is moving all of your life toward His specific plan and purpose. His whole idea is to make providence practical.

There are two facts we forget when we think of God’s providence. We forget God’s focus. Our focus is on the immediate. God’s is on the ultimate. We also can’t see how the pieces fit together. We forget that our knowledge is limited, while God’s is unlimited. God is able to know from all time how it is (not will) to be.

Paul says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." These words tell us that our circumstances can become so distressing for us that what we think we should be able to do we are incapable of doing.

Paul reminds us that God has a will and a plan for us. He says, "in accordance with God’s will". That plan is immediate and ultimate. It is immediate in that he is at work right now in my life. It is ultimate in that his plan involves all of my life from before I existed in time and my existence without time. Sometimes though my life gets so difficult that I don’t know what to pray. I think I do but I don’t. When I don’t know what to pray that is the very place the Holy Spirit specializes. He comes along side of us and helps us where we fell the weakest. His petitions before God are heard immediately. The words he uses aren’t words at all but the deepest expressions of our soul. When we don’t know what to pray God’s Spirit does it for me.

While you and I are wondering about what to say or pray God is working. Out there in His bigger picture God has promised a plan. Paul said, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) That plan is simply that whatever comes into my life he is capable of using it for my good and his glory.

The promise of God’s plan contains four important thoughts. The promise is to be owned by us not ignored. Paul said, "And we know…." That knowledge is knowledge that is fact. To know as a certain reality that God is working all of life of life toward His plan is not blind fatalism! It is, instead, bold faith! We also see that the project undertaken is God’s job not ours. To say "God causes all things to work together for good" is not to say "God causes all things." It says that God is the only one who can take all the events of life and determine their value for me to accomplish his plan for me. This promise is something that is total not partial. The promise is inclusive. When it says, "All things" it means all things regardless of our evaluation of them. The purpose of God’s promise is for good not evil. In other words I can know going in that this will bring good in my life. He says that God weaves them together, "for good". The he adds that the promise has a purpose "called according to his purpose."

Do we know always what is happening in our life? The answer is "No". Yet when we don’t know what is happening God always as a plan to accomplish his purpose in my life. God is causing all the facets of my life to ultimately work to bring glory to Him! That is the promise! That is the assurance! That is what "we know…."

"For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters." There is about God’s providence, a purpose. He is working all toward His purpose. He mentioned it in verse 28 and expands it in verse 29. What is that purpose? That when all of life has ended and the final note has been played God can look at my life and say, "There they are finished. My purpose is complete. All that I have done in their life had one goal: they were to look just like my Son!"

The scope of that assurance and purpose is found in the terms Paul uses. Paul said that God’s knowledge of us was such that he knew us intimately and personally. It is not merely knowledge of specific actions but a special purpose in knowing those who are acting. It is not what God knew in advance but whom He knew in advance.

What did he know? He knew we would be His. There’s no reason for us to be concerned negatively about the phrase "He predestined". It means simply, "to appoint beforehand." What has he appointed beforehand? That those He knew in advance would become those who would be made like Christ. When he says, "to become like his Son," the words mean not that we are to have some superficial resemblance to Christ. It means an inward complete likeness to the person of Christ.

So what does it all mean? It means that when I came to trust Christ as my Savior that it was not the result of my initiative but God’s. It means when I can’t possibly understand why the events in my life are as they are God is still moving all of my life in his direction. It means that God the Father wants to reproduce in us the exact nature of Jesus Christ. Even before He created us, He was committed to this task; and He will not quit until He is finished with every Christian.

IV. When I can’t see the next step God sees the whole process (Rom.8: 30)

This last statement is so comprehensive that it is mind numbing. Listen to what he says, "And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory." The NIV says, "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."

Haven’t you been in places where you could see the next step to take? You simply didn’t know where to turn or where to go. All you get are dead ends? These words tell me that when that happens in my life that God sees the whole process from start to finish. That process is a chain made up of five strong links. God works in my life as He does in all of nature according to design and purpose. So when you look at a believer’s life you see that God’s process begins in eternity past and is moving us toward eternity future.

What is that process?

• God knew me before I knew Him: He knew me in advance.
• God chose me before I chose Him: He secured me in advance.
• God was looking for me before I was looking for Him: He was calling before I was listening.
• God made me right even before I knew I was wrong: He made it possible for me to come to Him.
• God knew the end before I knew the beginning: He won’t stop the process till I am completely like His Son.

To say this simply is not to declare it simple. I do not propose to understand all of this. Yet that is the process! He sees the end from the beginning. How does this help me with verse 18? God has been in charge from all eternity and is moving my life toward its desired end! When I can’t possibly see the next step God sees the whole process.

Conclusion: To help us understand this from a very real, very practical human side let me share with you the story of Bob Puckett and Laura Needham. Bob was a university student here at ASU and is now doing an internship at the University of South Carolina. Laura is employed by the Jonesboro Public School system. Bob has been a vital part of our church family since he came as a freshman in 1995. We had the privilege of Bob being one of our adoptive students. Bob had desired as mot young adults to find that one person that God would have for him for the rest of his life. When he was in high school he thought that would happen while at ASU. When it didn’t happen at ASU he thought it would happen at work. When didn’t seem to happen at work he thought it would happen in the graduate program in South Carolina. What he never dreamed was that it would happen at church, right under his nose.

During last spring Bob was in the balcony for late service. While there he saw a young lady who caught his eye. Not knowing who she was he decided to wait for another time to introduce himself. The next Sunday came and she was back again. This time he decided that if she came back for a third Sunday then he would introduce himself to the "balcony girl". Two Sundays went by and he sat down in the lower floor for a variety of reasons. During this time two "cupids" June Williams and Sandra Lusby began to tell Bob about a co-worker of theirs that they felt he needed to meet. Well finally one spring Sunday Bob was in the balcony and Laura "the balcony girl" was in the balcony and he introduced himself and invited her to lunch. They soon discovered over lunch that the "cupids" had not only informed Bob about Laura but Laura about Bob. Lunch turned into dating and dating to "I love you" and "I love you" to "I think this is it".

Let me have Laura tell you in her own words: "About a month before I met Bob, I hit my knees before the Lord. I gave up a struggle that I had been fighting with Him. I wasn’t really lonely because I had my friends and family, but I wanted a special person to share my life with. I longed for someone so badly, but had many disappointments. I had shared this dream with the Lord many times and prayed about it earnestly. That night, I surrendered myself to His will and told Him I would be single if that is what He had planned for me. I told Him I would be happy with His decision for me as I knelt and wept.

The very next day while I was getting a manicure a lady came in that lived in Tuckerman. She had never been to that shop before. She sat down beside me and started asking me questions about my job, religious orientation, etc. After a while of talking, she said to me, "I have the one for you." Knowing what God had revealed to me the night before, trying to be obedient to His will, I told her I was not interested in dating. She insisted on telling me about the blonde, blue-eyed, twenty-eight year old, Christian doctor who was looking for a girl that was a professional, dark-headed, and Christian. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Get the picture?

We ended up exchanging phone numbers and she asked if she could call me after she told him about me. I said, "I guess." I left the shop that day absolutely bewildered. What was God doing? I asked Him, "Why did you tell me I was going to be single last night and then have a chance stranger tell me about Dr. Perfect?" I couldn’t understand. Was God testing me to see if I meant that I had really surrendered my all the night before or was he granting my dream because I had finally given up my own will? I told God that I would not call her and that if it was not meant for me to meet this man then she would not call me either, but would "forget she even met me."

During this time, I felt that God was wanting me to make some spiritual changes and that included changing churches. For the next month, I went to First Baptist trying desperately to get some answers from God about my life and what He wanted me to do with it career, moving, etc. The sermons those spring months were on unanswered prayer. I prayed about the chance meeting I had with the lady. Was it a test?

About fours weeks went by and I was still working on being happy about God’s purpose for me. I was still going to First Baptist. I was asking God about the test and other areas of my life I needed answers for. Through my time listening to Bro. Bruce and meditating on God’s presence, He revealed to me that I had been interpreting some of His intentions wrong. He was not trying to tempt me. He was going out of His way, using the lady as an instrument, to show me that no problem or desire I have is too big for Him to handle…no prayer request that he cannot satisfy. He was going out of His way by sending me to the right place at the right time, sending the out of town lady to the right place at the right time, describing dream guy to say, "I am God. There is nothing I cannot do. There is not anything in your life that I cannot use to make my will happen in your life when I get ready for it to." After that experience, I realized that single or married, I was going to be in God’s will and I was going to be happy. I truly trusted Him and that if it was meant for me to meet someone, His power was limitless to make that happen and all my other life decisions, too.

All the while, I am going to First Baptist and sitting in the balcony. I am seeing a great looking guy. He doesn’t look like my usual type…he has dark hair, but still I can tell there is something special about him. I put any thought of him out of my head.

A couple of weeks later, I talk to Sandra Lusby, who works at Annie Camp with me, about my struggle to find a place for myself in my new church setting. She tells me about a guy at FBC that is in my same boat named "Bob something" and wanted me to met him. She said, "I’ve got the one for you." (Sound familiar?) She told me all these wonderful things about Bob. Here we go again God, why are throwing all this good stuff in my face???? She asked me if she could tell Bob about me and I said, " I guess." The next week she comes back to me and says Bob has agreed to meet me. I say, "ok." And secretly think to myself, "wouldn’t it be cool if it was that good –looking guy in the balcony." I quickly put this thought out of my head and told myself that it was too good to be true…that good-looking guy could not have looks and all that wonderful stuff Sandra said about him.

So the next Sunday, I go to church not suspecting anything and not knowing who in the world Bob might be. The message was good that day about prayer and I was trying hard to concentrate on what God was telling me. During the last prayer, I was daydreaming to myself, "How great would it be if that balcony guy came over here and invited me to lunch…..STOP! You are supposed to be praying! Concentrate!" As we dismissed after prayer, I gather up my Bible and other items to turn around to the best looking guy I had ever seen in my life who is asking me to lunch…? I just about fell out of the pew when he introduced himself as Bob. The guy that I had my eye on was THE BOB that Sandra had been wanting to introduce me to for weeks. God is so GOOD!

After we had been dating about a month, I went back to the nail shop. I asked the lady (Kim) that did my nails if that stranger lady had been back in. Kim replied, "Yes. I asked her if she ever called you and she told me, ‘No, I forgot I even met her.’" This demonstrated to me even further God’s guidance and the power of prayer to make it happen.

God has blessed my life so much and has never failed to answer prayer in my life. He has far surpassed any dream I have ever had. God’s guidance is clear when we wait on Him and are willing to submit all we are to Him. Until I was willing to fully surrender my will to His, I could not receive his full blessings. I’m glad I did; I’ve never been happier. I just know God has big plans for Bob and I to serve Him through our life together."

On Friday October 12 Bob came back to Jonesboro and arranged for Grant Keller to assist him in "popping the question". The detail of this event is shames all the men here. Bob had everything ready. He had an excuse to get her to the balcony where they first met. When she turned the corner into the balcony she saw a table with flowers, candles lighting the way, flowers on the floor making a pathway to the table. On the table were pictures of them, all the letters she had written to him in South Carolina and a record of their dates and conversations. On his knees he asked for her love forever and presented her the ring. On cue their song began to play, " I can’t help falling in love with you" and they enjoyed loves embrace set to music. On May 12, 2002 Bob Puckett and Laura Needham will join their two lives into one life celebrating the providence of God in their life.

Why do I tell you that story? Because it demonstrates in very practical ways how God guides our life. How did those two lives come together? The answer for the believer is God’s practical providence. God is guiding what he has made toward what he desires using the ways he has chosen.

Sunday, October 21, 2001 (10:50am)

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org