Donkeys & Divine Providence

"Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”

“Tomorrow about this time I will send to you (Samuel) a man (Saul) from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel."

~1 Samuel 9:3,16

I hope that when you read this section in 1 Samuel 9 for yourself, you too marvelled at how God caused the donkeys of Saul to wander away, caused Saul's father to urge him to go after the donkeys, and caused Saul's servant to suggest that they go to the prophet Samuel for help. And God orchestrated all these events so that He could reveal the new king of Israel to Samuel to be annointed.

Yes my brother and sister in Christ, even the habitual activities of your daily mundane routine have been ordered by a good God. He has placed you exactly where He wants you to be to do His good and perfect will. I rejoice to know that I am not the governor of the events in my life but rather that it is the Lord who governs every detail of every person's life on this planet. He orders the Christian's life for their highest spiritual good (Romans 8:28); He even orders the unbeliever's life in such a way as to reveal their sinfulness, and gives them opportunities to turn to Him so that if they still reject Him, then on the judgement day, all those opportunities will stand in judgement against them.

And it is because God orchestrates every detail of human history that He ordained that the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus should call for a census, which would cause Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem so that God's own Son would be born a King in that little village amongst the shepherds, where centuries ago David, the shepherd king was born and, therefore God fulfilled the prophecy He gave about where Jesus would be born, centuries before it actually happened.

Be joyful, and take comfort in this my friend: The Lord our God, who has fixed the orbits of the planets, and the lifespan of the ladybird, has also placed you exactly where He needs you to be. So serve Him in that place lovingly and joyfully. And if you do not yet believe in Jesus, I urge you, God has caused you to read this message so that you turn away from your sin and believe in His Son who died as the punishment for your sins and who was raised from the dead to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. Do not ignore my plea; Run to the cross and hide yourself in Jesus.