Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
Jesus tells us to take a look at God’s creation, particularly the birds of the air. You can see the birds early in the morning looking around for food. It seems to be merely a natural process. The worms ate organic material that the cells inside their bodies turn into worm, and the birds eat the worms which the mechanisms in their body turn into bird. It’s amazing to think of all the mechanisms involved.
Above and beyond this process, Jesus tells us, God is superintending it so that He can really be said to “feed the birds.” There are real secondary causes in this process, but God is the ultimate cause of the birds having food.
Jesus had heard from a young age the Psalms which give praise to God as the one who governs and shapes the processes in the animal world. For example, “All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (Psalm 104:27–30). The Bible is filled with statements like these.
God’s Providence
What we are talking about here is God’s providence. God’s creation is God’s making of all things. God’s providence means that God sustains His creation and governs it. What happens in the world happens according to His plan. God actually brings about the events that occur in this world. In our text, God is bringing about the situation that feeds the bird so that Jesus can say that ultimately it is God that is feeding the birds.
People used to use the word “providence” a lot more. Consider what Abraham Lincoln said in his second inaugural address: “If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God must needs come. . . .” What he is saying is that the state of the world is a result of God’s government or providence. In his providence, God permits evil events to occur without being responsible for the evil and allows them to exist as part of His overall plan. He will use them ultimately for the good of His people and for His glory (as we shall see below). If you read the great speeches from American history, you will find that the word “providence” is regularly used.
Throughout human history, humans have recognize that events, even those in which human free will and secondary causes are involved, are the result of God’s government. When the Apostle Paul spoke to the philosophers of Athens, he appealed to their own philosophers to show that this was the case. He assumed general agreement on this matter (see Acts 17:16–28).
Paul could have used an abundance of resources to demonstrate this point. Consider his contemporary, the Roman aristocrat Seneca: “A good man, you will admit, must have the highest sense of duty toward the gods. Hence he will endure with an unruffled spirit, whatever happens to him; for he will know that it has happened as a result of the divine law, by which the whole creation moves” (Letter LXXVI, 210). Similar quotes could be multiplied over and over.
In fact, anytime someone prays or gives thanks to God, they recognize that God is the ultimate cause of all things. People pray to God and thank God for events that include secondary causes and human free will. In this way, they subconsciously recognize the providence of God as the ultimate cause of all things.
Further Scripture on God’s Providence
Learning to think of every situation as coming from God is a biblical perspective. Here are just a few passages that presuppose and teach God’s total government of all things, His providence.
- “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). God works in all things not just some things for the good of His people. This indicates that all events occur according to God’s plan and providence.
- “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). Our faith in Christ is part of God’s plan, a plan that includes “everything.”
- “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). This is similar to many other proverbs. We have our plans, but, above and beyond our will, it is God’s will for what happens that prevails.
- “He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses” (Psalm 135:7). The weather is not a matter of mere chance or second causes. It is part of God’s providence.
- “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” (Daniel 2:20 21). God governs politics and establishes rulers over nations. Behind all human plans, God is working to accomplish His purposes in the life of nations.
These verses are just a small sample that indicate the biblical perspective. God is the Sustainer and Governor of all things. He rules the world and brings everything about according to His perfect plan.
Application of God’s Providence
The purpose of teaching God’s providence is to enable us to live more in the presence of God.
First, do we see each day as coming from God? Do we see the situations we are in as part of His providence? We should begin each day and take each event as coming not from chance but from God’s fatherly hand.
Second, do we submit to it? Do we complain about our situation as if we were in charge? Or, do we submit to them as being part of God’s government and providence? That’s what the high priest Eli did after Samuel announced doom upon his house. He said, “He is the Lord. Let Him do what is good in His eyes” (1 Sam. 3:18). Do we acquiesce and consent to God’s government of the world, or do we rail against it?
Third, do we trust the Lord? That’s the chief purpose of what Jesus said about the birds. God takes care of them, He will take care of us. We are much more valuable than they are. Our security is not ultimately in the hands of chance or other people. It is ultimately in God’s hands. As a good Father, He will take care of us. His providence, His governing of the world, will supply all our needs according to His great riches in glory (Phil. 4:19).
That’s the comfort that we can take from God’s providence. We just have to learn to see each day as God’s gift to us and as part of His government of the world. We need to learn to see the world as coming not by chance or secondary causes but ultimately from the hand of a good and gracious Father.
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