There is this big word that Christians use to describe how God cares for us. It is “providence”.
 
God is telling the stories of our lives. Providence is the idea that God is showing how good God is through the stories of our lives.  Each of us is part of a bigger story that God is sharing with the world–a story about who God is, a story about how much God loves us, and a story about how together we are part of God’s plan to restore all things to the wonderful way that God created them to be in the beginning.

Job was a person in the Bible who had a lot of bad things happen to him. One time when he was very sad, Job said to God, “You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit” Job 10:12. Even when he was sad, Job knew that everything that happened in his life was part of the bigger story that God was telling. 

Realizing that we are part of God’s story means that we can rest one day a week because we trust that God is in control and working through our lives. In fact, resting is how we show people that God is working through our lives! Pray that God would help you rest and see how you fit into the big story that God is telling the world.

Question to Ponder:

Swinton writes, “Providence provides a narrative that allows us to reorient ourselves within God’s time and, in doing so, create the context for effective, faithful participation in the providential movement of God as time moves inexorably toward God’s conclusion” p.117. How can the idea of God’s providence encourage us?

This week’s devotions are adapted for intergenerational use from the book, Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship by John Swinton. Baylor University Press, Waco. 2016.