It was Tuesday morning, 10:00 a.m., and my shift had just begun at the mall.
The shift from singleness to companionship.
It was the morning I met my wife.
Standing by a fundraising kiosk in one of the largest malls in the world at the time, I was cordially greeting the sleepy passerby's when she caught my eye as I tried to catch hers. It was the way she was dressed that first arrested my attention – very attractive yet modest. Definitely a far cry from the mall norm.
A simple conversation began to grow between the two of us as she stopped to politely listen to my sales pitch. The conversation turned to some of our life experiences and I immediately recognized that this was a woman of character.
And then she was gone.
I knew her first name, and nothing more. But something had been touched in my heart. Who was this beautiful woman? And why did I feel this way? I didn’t even know who she was! And who meets their sweetheart in the mall? Was this encounter providential? That night I prayed. “God, I don’t know who Jenn is, but You do. If it’s your will I meet her again, please arrange it…”
The Dictionary defines Providence as “Divine guidance or care.”1 We could expand upon that by saying that Providence is God’s interaction with and direction of human beings through the fabric of circumstance, which itself is composed of time and space. The Bible teaches that God is the God of time and space and throughout both biblical and human history we see God use both time and space to guide the affairs of men. Often in miraculous ways. Perhaps always in miraculous ways. Not only does this God of love guide the affairs of nations, He can guide individuals. He can guide you. With Providential, Divine precision. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8).
Few stories in the Bible are as beautiful and rich as the story of Ruth.2 It is a story full of Providence – Divine guidance and care. The cascade of circumstances began when a famine in Bethlehem prompted Elimelech to move his family to the land of Moab where presumably he could better provide for his family. Double tragedy struck the family when both the father and his married sons died, leaving three widows behind. Having lost everything, Naomi then makes plans to return to Bethlehem alone. Ruth, one of her two daughters-in-law, pleads to go with her and expresses her faith in the God of Israel. Naomi and Ruth both move back to Bethlehem as poor widows where Ruth begins to pick up leftovers in a barley field to survive. Unbeknownst to her, she happened to be gathering in a field owned by a rich distant relative of her late husband named Boaz. Boaz happened to drop by his field near the end of the day and noticed a beautiful woman he didn’t recognize. Inquiry was made and generous provisions given to this virtuous foreign woman. In time, through an honorable courtship, Boaz and Ruth married. Ruth immediately conceived with the blessing of God and gave birth to a son named Obed, the grandfather of King David, and ultimately the human forefather of the Messiah.
Amazing. Imagine if any one of those circumstances had been off just a little bit — there would have been no marriage between Boaz and Ruth. No little baby Obed. In this story, we see Naomi, Ruth and Boaz all responding to the Providence of God – His care and guidance. The miracle of Divine Providence is that God is working through the little circumstances of our lives to guide us into His perfect will so that we can reap His rich blessings.
Hand of Providence
In my case, the hand of Providence was orchestrating a second meeting with Jenn. The very next day I was again working a morning shift at the fundraising kiosk. During a lull in foot traffic, as I was scanning the area, I caught sight of her blonde hair as she walked into a store kitty-corner from my kiosk. Yes! It appeared God had quickly answered my prayer from the previous night. I was determined to flag her down once she finished her business inside the store. The minutes wore on as I waited for her to emerge. Meanwhile, an unfortunately talkative customer appeared at my kiosk and began to absorb my attention. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw Jenn emerge from the store and look my way. Our eyes met briefly as duty to the customer in front of me prevented my feet from running after her. Alas, she slipped into the crowd and was gone.
Several weeks went by. Work picked up at my regular job, and I was declining shifts at the fundraising kiosk. You see, I wasn’t even supposed to be working there at the mall. I had a regular job. Although I was in an industry that usually did see some slow-down near the beginning of the year, I had never been slow. Except for this year. Business had just dried right up. This had prompted me to get the fundraising job on the side, through the connections of some good friends.
One morning, on an especially busy day, I received a phone call from the fundraising kiosk manager. She asked if I could cover a last-minute shift during the lunch hour rush for a fellow employee. She explained the circumstances, and although I was sympathetic, I explained that I couldn’t. Especially that day. I was completely swamped with my own work and managing some work for a colleague on vacation. Disappointed but understanding, she hung up. Then something unexpected happened. The Holy Spirit began reasoning with me. He started to impress me that I could take that shift. He started to show me how I could rearrange my schedule in such a way that it just might work. Just. Then He reminded me that I hadn’t worked at the kiosk for a couple of weeks. It might be good to do this favor for the manager, He said. Boy, this wasn’t going to be easy, but I’ll give it a shot, I thought. I phoned the manager back and told her that I would take the shift after all. Out of breath, I showed up at the kiosk just in time for the start of my three-hour shift, to cover the lunch-time rush during an especially busy day at the mall.
Then there she was. Just a few minutes into my shift, Jenn suddenly appeared out of the throng of people around me and walked up to the kiosk. I was shocked! I think the first thing I said was “I’m so glad you came back!” Needless to say, I got her full name and phone number this time. I later learned that she had popped into the mall to return some jeans to a clothing store on the second floor, and she had just happened to look down to the first floor and see me at the kiosk. For a split second she pondered whether to go say hi. She almost didn’t. But then the Holy Spirit nudged her, and she did. I could say the rest is history, because it is. But perhaps more accurately I could say the rest is providence. Because it truly is. This providential meeting was just one of many God-orchestrated events along our path to the marriage altar. Looking at my wife and children today reminds me how grateful I am that we both responded to God’s providence.
In a little book called Christian Education, the author writes “God speaks to us through His providential workings, and through the influence of His Spirit upon the heart. In our circumstances and surroundings, in the changes daily taking place around us, we may find precious lessons if our hearts are but open to discern them.”3
Call to Action
Friend, today God invites you and I to trust His hand of providence. Like Ruth and Boaz, God also wants to guide you in your life. Through both the miraculous and mundane circumstances of life, He seeks to guide you into His perfect will so that He can lavish you with blessings above what you can imagine. Our part is to respond. To trust. To follow. He has guided you in the past. He will guide you again in the future.
Are you willing to follow His hand of providence?
“For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.”
Psalm 48:14
All Scripture is taken from the King James Version.
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/providence
- I definitely suggest you read the book of Ruth in the Bible if you haven’t in a while
- Ellen G. White, Christian Education (Battle Creek, MI: International Tract Society, 1894), 56.
