Trick Plays And God’s Providence

God’s providence can be difficult to understand, but it is plain in Scripture.   ~~~   When I was playing baseball, there were several trick plays that we had in our arsenal. One of my favorite was a trick plays we would run was when there was a speedy runner on first base. The pitcher would step off the rubber, and then fake a quick throw to the first baseman. The first baseman would dive on the ground, making it look like the pitcher had made a wild throw. The second baseman and the right fielder would race back behind first base as if they were going to retrieve the wildly thrown ball. The runner, in the midst of this pandemonium, would hop up and begin advancing towards second base. But when he got about halfway to second base, the pitcher, still with ball in hand, would toss it to the shortstop who was at second base, and then easily tag out the runner. If you just look at a small segment of that trick play, it looks like the baserunner is advancing, gaining ground against the other team, when in reality, that baserunner was fulfilling the will of the other team. If you just look at a small segment of history, from time to time, then it looks like the enemy is advancing, attacking and succeeding against God. But if we take a step back, then we realize, we see, that the enemy, because of his quest for power, is actually fulfilling the will of God. This truth is one we have been examining all throughout this book—the providence of God. It can be mysterious and difficult to understand. But it is plainly and squarely on the pages of scripture. And because of this, God’s church, Christians banding together, can walk through extremely tough seasons with perseverance and endurance and confidence. When it looks like the enemy is gaining an edge, remember, God has the ball in his hand the whole time, and He is in control of the game. As David prays in Psalm 57:6 “They set a net for my steps; my should was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way; but they have fallen into themselves.”