His Invisible Hand

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God's providence is everywhere and, most of the time,
hardly seen. The great Scriptwriter of the play sees far
and wide into the future and with perfect access to the
past. Just as the author of a book views what is coming
long before the characters encounter it, so God sees
the nuances of human choices and how they play into
His story of His kingdom.

We rarely see prevented calamities because we rarely
see their potential rise. These are the scientifically un-
detectable hands of God at work. He prevents the
storm from raging the seaman so that the seaman may
safely return to his family. He prevents the scorching
draught so that the farmer may have crops at harvest.
Even our little experiences play into the providence
of God. Perhaps He prevented our catching the green
light to protect us from the reckless driver at the next
signal. Perhaps he prevented our choosing the fastest
line at the grocers to delay our hurriedness. That three-
minute delay may allow us to meet an old friend or
encourage a disheartened neighbor.

We do not see these providences simply because
our perspective sits on the wrong side of the page.
We are in the story, as players in a play, and
remember only parts of the pages before, and
can hardly see the pages beyond. We do not
know the Scriptwriter's work, except the portion
He chooses to reveal. His thoughts are higher
than ours, among other reasons, simply because
they are above the page.

Several days before Halloween each year, my wife
and I capture our part-Siamese cat because he had
the unfortunate breeding of being birthed completely
black. His name is Congo. Because of the season,
we keep Congo indoors to prevent possible mis-
fortunes that often accompany the superstitions
of the holiday.

Congo has no idea why the cat-door has been
locked. He perches on the couch and looks
longingly at the wide world beyond the window.
You can almost hear the silent protesting over
the appalling fact that he has been forced to use
the uncivilized litter-box. He meows after his white
and gray brother because his sibling does not share
the confinement. Yet as soon as Halloween concludes,
Congo darts zealously into the wild world lost to him
for four days.

I can imagine, if Congo had an inner monologue, what
it would sound like. "These humans are mysterious.
They pen me up indoors for more days that I can count.
I did not go to the vet. I did not take any special medicines.
I saw no dangerous coyotes outside the window, though
I did see my brother scamper past a couple of times in
search of mice. Those days were a waste of time for my
masters as I could not catch the vermin for them. And,
for obvious reasons, they were a waste of time for me."

Little did Congo know the potential dangers that awaited
him. He did not know the time of the year. He hardly
knew the warnings produced by animal shelters for pet
owners to protect their felines. All he knew were dull
days of prevented fun and activity in the neighborhood.

This metaphor is a gift to me to remember that God is
always behind the scenes preventing, allowing, and acting
in the world for the good of his kingdom. No wonder Paul
admonishes, "Do all things without grumbling or question -
ing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of
God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted
generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ
I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain"
(Phil 2:14-16).

Our grumbling is often, from God's perspective, a resist-
ance to trust his flawless character and His infinite wisdom.
Our complaining against even the most trivial of inconven-
iences in life sounds as silly as the questioning of my cat
or as peculiar as a player protesting the author of a play.
Yet when we trust that our obedience falls into line with
God's work in the world, it brings goodness both to our
lives and the lives of our neighbors. And we can celebrate
His invisible hand that lavishly moves on our behalf, even
sometimes without the evidence.

Dale Fincher
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