Boasting in our arrogance in 2020 vs. Resting in God's Providence in 2020

Hello Church Family:
How does your loving Heavenly Father want you to enter every day of this new decade?  He calls us to live lives in 2020 fully believing that with great purpose He is personally managing this universe with absolute caring control.  He calls us to trust that He is completely in charge of this world in 2020 even though His hand may be hidden from us, He calls us to live like His rule of this universe is absolute.  Are you entering 2020 with plans that acknowledge that the everywhere, always present power of God is active in your life?  Are you making plans for this next decade trusting that His hand still upholds heaven and earth with all of His creation in His power?  Are you with great boldness taking steps in your life that acknowledges God’s complete authority over jobs and family, wealth and poverty, rain and drought, health and sickness, food and drink?  Are you enjoying that all of these are being taken care of for you not by chance but by your Heavenly Father’s, loving, powerful right hand?

If you answered, “Yes,” to these questions you are enjoying the “providence of God.”  God intends us to enjoy His providential care for us as He provides for, sustains and governs His universe by the word of His power.   God’s providential care for you involves perfecting governing, sustaining, and providing for all that will meet you in the next ten seconds and the next ten years.  God is always providentially active in your life!  This is a promise that we have as believers to enjoy and call upon each day.

How is the knowledge of God’s providence to help us and guide us right now?

Resting in His providence will bring a peaceful patience when things come against us because we know that God is working in this for our good and for His glory.  Resting in His providence will create a thankfulness when things go well because we know that this is from God’s hand.  Resting in His providence for everything future will bring a bold confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing in creation will separate us from his love.  Resting in His providence fully trusts that all creatures are so completely in God's hand that without His will they can neither move nor be moved.  This is how God wants us to live our our lives in 2020.

Unfortunately, our heart is naturally bent to ignore the truth of God’s powerful, sovereign involvement in our life.  We tend to make plans as if we are in control of this life of ours.  Yet, we do not even know what the next minute will bring, right?  We may be already focused on the 2020 plans that we have for our own business and our plans for our kids and our family and our wealth without giving one thought towards what are the providential plans and purposes that God has for me in these areas.
 
We very easily get obsessed with this world and what we want to do instead of God’s specific will for me in 2020.  Do you have more of an excitement and obsession about what you will do and what you will accomplish in 2020 or do you have a greater excitement about what God will accomplish and what God will do in your life?  This is what James tells us is “boasting in our arrogance” (James 4:13-17).  When we stop resting on the providence of God we start to rest in our own self-sufficient plan boasting in what we are going to accomplish not what the Lord wills to accomplish.

Let us start 2020 trusting in and acknowledging our Heavenly Father who is actively and personally managing our universe with absolute hands-on loving control.  He is in control and He asks us to let His perspective inform and shape what we think and how we speak about our plans.  Let us join James, the Apostle, in having the same heart, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Looking forward to worshipping with you Sunday after our hour of corporate prayer, Steve

Proverbs 16:9  The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.