Comforted by God's Providence | The Righteous Vindicated

Bereans:

I want to start the new year with a reminder of God's sovereignty and little bit of good news.  One of the most effective ways to dispel such things as fear, anxiety, depression, and other battles of the mind is to focus our thoughts on the attributes of God. When we turn our thoughts away from ourselves and onto the greatness of God, our problems and concerns diminish in comparison to Him.  We should never consider people and circumstances bigger than God.  In reality, people and circumstances are small and God is big.

Isn't this exactly what Jesus said about worry and anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount?  The Lord said that if you are worried or anxious about the basic necessities of life (which by implication means the smallest things and everything greater), then you should consider how God providentially cares for the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field.  Since His omniscience means that He knows about all the minute details of such insignificant things, and His omnipotence means that He can provide for all those tiny needs, then He can certainly take care of anything you need. After all, you are made in His image and He cares much more about you than He does the lilies and the birds (see Matthew 6:19-34).

We must never cease to wonder at God's providential care for His children.  His providence means that He is guiding and governing events and circumstances for His purposes.  Whatever He wants to do, He will accomplish, so fretting, worrying, getting depressed, or any other negative reaction to events and circumstances betrays a lack of trust or understanding of His providence (see Job 23:13; Psalm 115:3; 135:6). We should be comforted that God is always in control.  The following article by Tim Challies is a poignant tribute to God's providence that he wrote around the second anniversary of his son's death.  He contrasts God's providential care with the appetite that so many in our day have for miracles and spectacular signs.  The ability to see God's providence in everything is the more biblical view, and more comforting, than being driven by a desire for miracles.
https://www.challies.com/articles/what-i-long-for-more-than-miracles/

Finally, I shared a couple of weeks ago how libraries across the country had refused to allow Kirk Cameron to publicly read his new book for children in their buildings.  These same libraries were allowing drag queens to read to children. However, Kirk was allowed to read in an Indianapolis library, provided he paid for the space himself.  His reading yesterday was the largest gathering the library has had since it opened.  Today he is reading at a library in New York City.  Praise God that He has caused Kirk to be publicly vindicated for courageously standing up for truth.
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/kirk-cameron-draws-2500-people-indianapolis-public-library-book-reading

May God grant His grace and peace to you this year!

J.W.