God's Hidden Hand

God at Work Behind the Scenes

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In the story of baby Moses, nobody sees a burning bush or hears God's voice. Yet God was working the whole time. Christians call this God's providence.

Providence. Providence means God's wise care and rule over everything that happens. God is not only near when we see miracles. He is in charge every day.

The right time. Pharaoh's daughter came “down to bathe at the river” (Exodus 2:5). She came to the right place at the right time.

The right sound. “The baby wept” (Exodus 2:6). His cry could have been dangerous. Instead it moved her heart.

The right person. His sister “stood afar off, to know what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4). She was ready with the right question at the right moment.

The right words. Miriam asked, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women…?” (Exodus 2:7). God gave a young girl courage and wisdom to speak.

Real choices. God did not force anyone. Moses' mother chose to trust, Miriam chose to speak and the princess chose to be kind. God worked through their choices.

The right home. Pharaoh's daughter told Moses' mother, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages” (Exodus 2:9).

Joseph saw it too. Joseph told his brothers, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

God's plans stand. “There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the Lord's counsel—that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). Pharaoh had a plan, but God's plan stood.

Higher ways. God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). We do not always understand what God is doing.

Good thoughts toward us. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Made by Him. “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb” (Psalm 139:13). God's care for you began before you were born.

Bring Him your worries. Peter wrote that we can be “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

What we learn. God is always at work, even when we cannot see Him. He is wise, He is kind, and He is in charge.

What to do. Each night this week, think about your day and look for one way God took care of you. Thank Him for it.

Exodus 2:1-10 has no voice from heaven and no plague, yet God's care fills every step. Christians call this providence: God's wise and loving rule over all things, including the ordinary ones.

Providence defined. Providence (say: PRAH-vih-dense) means God preserving and governing all that He made. He keeps the world going, and He guides it toward His purposes.

Ordinary means. A mother's love, a basket, a riverbank, a bath, a cry, a princess's pity, a girl's question. God used everyday things to accomplish His great plan.

Human choices are real. Moses' mother chose to hide him. Miriam chose to speak. Pharaoh's daughter chose compassion. God's providence did not make them puppets. He worked through their real choices.

Hebrews 11:23. Moses' parents “were not afraid of the king's command.” Trusting God's providence did not make them passive. It made them brave.

Evil is still evil. Pharaoh's decree was wicked, and God never called it good. Joseph said, “you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). God can bring good out of evil without approving the evil.

Genesis 50:20. Joseph's story and Moses' story are linked. Joseph brought Israel into Egypt. Moses would bring them out. The same hidden hand guided both.

Proverbs 19:21. “There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the Lord's counsel—that will stand.” Pharaoh's plan was to destroy the deliverer before he grew up. God's plan raised that deliverer in Pharaoh's own house.

Isaiah 55:8-9. God's ways are higher than ours “as the heavens are higher than the earth.” Providence often looks like confusion until we see the end.

Jeremiah 29:11. God spoke these words to exiles in Babylon. His plans for His people are plans for “a future and a hope,” even in hard places.

Psalm 139:13-14. David praised God for forming him in the womb: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Every child Pharaoh tried to destroy was known and formed by God.

Providence and prayer. Because God rules over all things, prayer is not wasted breath. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

Providence and peace. Jesus told His followers not to worry about food or clothes, because “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6:32). God's care frees us from anxious fear.

Application. When life seems random, remember baby Moses. God is not absent when He is unseen. Trust Him in the ordinary moments.

All Things Work Together

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Our memory verse is a big promise. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Let's look at it piece by piece.

We know. Paul did not say we hope or we guess. God's people can be sure, because God is faithful.

All things. Not only the happy things. Hard days, sad days and scary days are included too.

Work together. One thread alone does not make a basket. Many threads woven together do. God weaves the parts of our lives together.

For good. This does not mean everything is good. Pharaoh's law was evil. It means God can bring good out of anything.

The best good. In the very next verse, Paul says God's plan is for His children to become like Jesus (Romans 8:29). That is the greatest good of all.

Those who love God. This promise is for God's children, people who trust and love Him.

The called. God calls people to Himself. We love Him because He loved us first.

Like Joseph. Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave, but God used it to save many lives (Genesis 50:20). Romans 8:28 is the same truth for every child of God.

Not always right away. Sometimes we see the good soon, as Moses' mother did. Sometimes we will not see it until heaven. God is still good, and He is still working.

God is for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

The proof. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Nothing can separate us. Paul was sure that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

The cross. The worst thing ever done was the killing of Jesus. God turned it into the best gift ever given, our salvation.

When I am afraid. David prayed, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3).

What to do. Learn Romans 8:28 by heart. When something hard happens, say it aloud and ask God to show you how He is working.

Romans 8:28 is a promise for God's children in a world of real suffering. To understand it, read it in its setting in Romans 8.

The setting. Romans 8 speaks of the sufferings of this present time (8:18) and of creation groaning. Paul is not promising an easy life. He is promising God's purpose in a hard one.

“We know.” This is the language of confidence. Christians do not know every reason for every event, but they know the character and purpose of God.

“All things.” Nothing falls outside God's rule. Tribulation, distress, persecution and danger are named in Romans 8:35.

“Work together.” The Greek sunergei (say: soon-er-GAY) gives us the word synergy: many parts working as one. God brings separate events into one good purpose.

“For good.” Romans 8:29 defines the good: God's people are to be conformed to the image of His Son. Conformed means shaped to match. Comfort is not the goal. Becoming like Christ is.

“To those who love God.” The promise is not for everyone in general. It is for those who belong to God through Jesus.

“The called according to His purpose.” God's calling comes first. Our love for Him is the answer to His love for us.

Romans 8:31-32. If God gave His own Son, He will not hold back anything we truly need. The cross is the guarantee of the promise.

Romans 8:38-39. Death, life, angels, powers, present or future things: none “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Looking back. Moses' mother did not know her son would become Israel's deliverer. She trusted God one day at a time. We often see God's good purpose only when we look back.

Exodus 2 as a picture. Pharaoh's evil, a mother's faith, a sister's courage and a princess's compassion all worked together to raise up a deliverer.

The greatest example. At the cross, human evil did its worst. God used it to bring salvation, and then He raised Jesus from the dead.

A word of care. When a friend is suffering, Romans 8:28 is true, but it is not a quick fix. Weep with them first, and pray with them. Speak the promise gently.

Application. Memorize Romans 8:28-32 as one passage. The promise makes most sense when you remember the gift of the Son.

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Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.