The providence of salvation
ChatGPTMany Christians can't recall the moment they were saved, but I do.
I was in my mid 20s when it happened. My whole life up to that point had been a winding faith journey as I'd tried to logically deduce whether God existed or not. I grew up in a church, served as an acolyte (altar boy), even went to Christian summer camp. Later, I tried the New Age and the occult. Surely, I thought, many roads led to God.
In the moment it all came together, there was no lightning bolt or angelic choir. I sat on a couch with a book in hand (A Ready Defense by Josh McDowell). In the introduction, he told his story of seeking to disprove God, only to prove God's existence instead.
For some reason, I was immediately convinced. I hadn't even read the first chapter of his apologetic defense of Christianity. Why did I suddenly believe Jesus was the only way to heaven?
I can only explain it as God's providence. He appointed me to believe, right there on the couch. I devoured the rest of the book. My faith caught a major tailwind as I absorbed all the reasons belief was reasonable.
Now, more than three decades later, John Flavel's The Mystery of Providence (1678) has reminded me of God's active hand in our salvation. Flavel explains that providence casts us "in the way of conversion" (p. 72). It "orders the means and occasions of it for you."
If you're not yet a believer, my advice is to watch and wait for God's sudden movement. Flavel continues: "It may be you had heard many hundred sermons before, but nothing would stick till now, because the hour was not come" (p. 73).
Has your hour come?
Or are you praying and waiting for the hour to come for someone else, perhaps a coworker, friend or spouse?
Somehow God lets us participate in his saving work. He directed a new friend to give me the McDowell book. He gave me a desire to seek the truth. He led me to a church that discipled me.
God's providence is mysterious indeed. May we never forget—and always rejoice—that we have a God who doesn't just watch the world he made, but still acts in it today.
Rejoicing,
Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
LinkedIn profile | My books
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
More on Leadership Devotions
- The unbelief that strikes us all (by Tom Harper)
- How the Spirit providentially encourages us when we’re burdened (by Tom Harper)
- Why does God often wait until the last minute to providentially help us? (by Tom Harper)
- When God’s providential ways surprise us (by Tom Harper)
