The English word “providence” comes from the Latin providentia coming from “pro,” meaning “before” and “video” which means “to see.” So the verb means to “see before.” It refers to foresight or foresightful care. The root word of the English “providence” is the verb “to provide.” I looked up the word “provide” in the NASV…
When Abraham and Isaac were on the way to Moriah so that Abraham could offer Isaac as a burnt offering, Isaac commented that they had the wood and the fire (and a knife!), but where was the animal to be sacrificed? Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Gen. 22:8). The Hebrew verb here translated “provide” is the verb “to see,” which echoes the definition of providence we have seen above. God could see the sacrifice, even if Abraham and Isaac could not. He would provide.
In verse 13, God did provide – without performing any miracle – by causing in some way a ram to get caught in the thicket by his horns. The English verb “to provide” or its related noun “providence” is used in the Bible 58 times. A few Hebrew words are used to translate “provide.” One other I wish to point out is illustrated in Genesis 45:11. Joseph is speaking to his brothers and family in the middle of the famine: “There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.” This verb “provide” (in Hebrew) means “to comprehend, hold, or to sustain.” How appropriate.
In the NT, we see “providence” in Acts 24:2, the lawyer Tertullus speaking to Ananias, the high priest: “Since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation.” You see this word “providence” denotes the idea of “foresight.” Its related verb is used in 1 Timothy 5:8.
We also see the word “providence” used in Hebrews 11:40, which is appropriate: “God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” The verb translated “provide” here is not used elsewhere in the NT.
Providence is not miracles. Miracles are special acts of God which are indications that a certain man or woman was a spokesperson for God. Nicodemus acknowledged that if Jesus had not been sent from God, He could not perform miracles (John 3:2). That statement should echo in our minds as a response to contemporary “miracle-performers.”
I prayed for a Christian wife at the age of 12, in Hayesville, NC. Throughout high school, I planned to attend Faulkner University and I trusted that God would answer my prayer. He did not answer it at Faulkner. I heard Earl Edwards speak at the Faulkner lectureship and decided that I wanted to earn my Master’s degree under brother Edwards, so I enrolled at FHU. After one year, I still had not met anyone. After another year, I had not met anyone. But at the beginning of the third year, I met Rachel: a young lady from Georgia who had not planned on going anywhere else but Freed-Hardeman. While I cannot say that this was God’s doing in the sense that I cannot point to any specific action on God’s part, it sure seems like He was guiding the process along the way.
Trust God to always do the right thing. It may not involve answering your specific prayer as you want. But you must always trust Him to do the right thing.
Paul Holland
