How God helps those who
follow his guidance and directives in life.
God’s gift of providence.
More evidence of God’s presence in our lives.
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1.   INTRODUCTION
You can read the introductory article to this section of the website, âGod’s presence in our livesâ before going on, if you have not already. It explains the various methods, available to us, that we can use to engage with God in our lives. And how our lives can be positively transformed as a result! It also tries to put those available methods, and our overall relationship with God, in perspective.
(To read about the ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of this website please click here.)
The previous subsection, âGodâs guiding handâ in this “God in life” section of the website, explains how God tries to influence our lives positively through his guidance, even though we may not have asked for it. The final article âAsking for God’s guidanceâ in that subsection offered advice on how to actually ârequestâ, and then trust, his guidance when faced with big decisions in life.
Let us now get to the subject of Godâs assistance; his ‘helping hand’ at work in our lives. It can usually be recognised, when we DO follow his guidance in life (as mentioned above). That is when we are on track with the so-called ‘will of God‘. And we should try hard to follow the Bible’s advice in life as well. Yes, we should be faithful.
God is there, in those times, ready to help us:
For I am the Lord, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
[Isaiah 41:13]
2.   HIS LOVING HELP
Firstly though, I will say that even after choosing the right path in life, through accepting God’s guidance, it is not always going to be easy. There may well be hard work ahead. But the results should be satisfying!
Certainly, from my long term experience and evaluation, if you have recognised the way God âwants you to goâ, and you do go with that in trust, then he will often assist by supporting that right path. That is out of his love for you. As such, God’s ‘helping hand’, also known as “providence”, is often received when we willingly follow his guidance. Â
Of course this offers us further ‘belief building’ evidence of his presence in our lives. Quotes from the Old Testament:
The Lord himself goes before you
and will be with you;
he will never leave you;
nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged.
[Deuteronomy 318]
… in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
[Proverbs 3:6]
3.   HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
Now, I do understand it will take a few positive results from this kind of stuff to convince you.
Yes, God did make promises in the Bible that he would help us in this way, so please relax into it. I am pretty confident that you will eventually be pleasantly surprised. Of course, you should also note his loving assistance through other available methods of engaging with him in life. And many methods are laid out in this “God in life” section of the website. See the Menu Bar above please.
At times, through providence, you really should recognise a âparting of the watersâ. I mean that clearly opens the ‘appropriate’ path before you (âthe way God wants you to goâ). If you are committed to a certain direction in your education or career, home or work projects, journey of faith, helping the family or doing good deeds for others etc. And if that direction is ‘just’ and appropriate for you in Godâs view (i.e. ‘the will of God‘), then he will remove barriers to assist you. Based on my experiences, it WILL simply ‘all come together’ for you.
This really is the stuff that âdivine providenceâ is made of.
4.  PROVIDENCE IS VERY SPECIAL
It is also noteworthy that providence, or Godâs helping hand, is even more precious than his guidance. I believe that while God does try to guide everyone, unbeliever and believer alike, he only gives a helping hand (providence) to those who at least try to have ‘faith and trust in him’; those who have chosen to follow his guidance or directives.
Of course, that additional assistance could not be recognised by an atheist, even if God did give it, because their minds are just not open to it. (And look, I understand that because I’ve been there myself as an ‘unbeliever’.)
It certainly reassures us ‘faithful’ Christians that he will lovingly support us where possible on our path of life, that is when we willingly ‘walk with him’. I explain in a later article, âTrusting God day to dayâ how this loving care and assistance is available on a daily basis, if we are prepared to actually do just that: walk in trust with him. From the New Testament:
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]
5.  ONLY FOCUS ON THE GOAL
As practising Christians, we should really make the effort to recognise God’s hand at work in our lives. Its power really does again clearly raise it above sheer luck. So when following Godâs guidance in a certain direction, his gifts of providence could include: unexpected assistance, unplanned meetings with people who can help, and, material things just arriving without any prior knowledge. And each of them can help us towards that intended goal.
5.1Â Â Expect the unexpected at timesÂ
It can even happen through expected events âfalling throughâ, temporarily or even permanently. Later in hindsight it will be obvious that the unexpected events (or lack of expected events) actually suited the end result we did expect.
The intended end-result of our God-supported goal is the point to focus on after all, not the ‘road’ on which we are travelling at any one time. We just re-adjust our efforts as either âdoors are squeezedâ or âdoors opened wideâ by God. We believers get better at walking in step; âin syncâ with him as we get used to it over time.
So, when trying to use providence to our advantage in our endeavours, it is just a matter of ‘carefully’ following God’s guidance. That is, not getting overly excited when we are âon a rollâ, or getting stressed when things are not exactly going according to plan. The hard part, of course, comes at that stage …
5.2Â Â Relax and trust himÂ
As absolutely sure as I am, about Godâs role in this regard … from so much experience with it … I can still feel uneasy at times. Especially when unexpected ‘hiccups’ threaten a big project of mine. (I mean a project where God has actually given me guidance to follow.) You see, I am a bit of a ânervous Nellyâ at the best of times. Again and again, I get it! He does not let me down when I am following his will; his guidance. On these occasions, when the ‘old nerves’ kick-in, I very deliberately commit myself through trust to him. Just let all my worries fade away. And then normally, I relax and watch success come to pass!
So, the final words to you when things are not quite âon trackâ … just relax. Relax. Relax and hand over any problems to him, with as much faith and trust in him as you can find.
6.   CONCLUSION
As with Godâs guidance, his helping hand was for example a valuable aid to my career. And to so many other areas of my life as well.
All I can add is, please apply this stuff to your lifeâs big projects and goals when you know he has approved of them. I will be surprised if all this stuff does not work for you too. Simply look to his guidance and THEN let him help you follow it!
In Christian âspeakâ we are simply trusting Godâs âgrace!â as we move forward in this manner.
Remember if, as a faithful Christian, God approves of what you are doing then he will be there with you during your life journey. Godâs helping hand, as I have indicated, really does add great power and sanctity to our lives if we can get fully in touch with it.
The subsection, “Praying for things” follows this article under the Menu Bar heading “God in life”. Its first article has the same title, i.e. “Praying for things“. And yes, prayers definitely do work too, if they are applied as the Bible explains.