Visualizing God’s providence as a chain with interlocking links helps in understanding it better. In the lives of a patriarch named Joseph and an orphan named Esther, all things—envy, cruelty, imprisonment, false accusation, famine, a beauty contest, assassination plots, a sleepless night, racial/ethnic hatred—were all links which worked together for the good of Abraham’s physical posterity.
In constructing his irrefutable argument for the existence and trustworthiness of God’s providence, the apostle Paul links together five unanswerable questions. These are:
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If God is for us, who can be against us?
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Since God has already given His Son, will He not also freely give us all things?
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Who can successfully bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
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Who can successfully condemn a Christian?
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Who can separate us from Christ’s love?
To feel the full impact of his argument, turn each of these interrogatives into declaratives and bask in the warmth of their truths:
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God’s purposes cannot be thwarted by the forces of evil.
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God’s generosity (grace) cannot be stopped by the forces of evil.
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God’s wisdom cannot be overwhelmed by the forces of evil.
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God’s salvation cannot be nullified by the forces of evil.
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God’s love cannot be breached, nor His victory overthrown by the forces of evil.
Therefore, the irresistible and immovably firm conclusion from each of us ought to be: “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
Wonderful encouragement for those who are in Christ! Thank you!