Believers are always faced with the prospect of trusting in God’s sovereign care while also making wise decisions. During crises like the current pandemic, we feel this even more acutely. For many, thinking rightly both about God’s providence and about our responsibility to live wisely seems like an unresolvable tension. We find ourselves at various times falling off of one side of the tightrope, only to right ourselves and moments later fall off of the other.
“God is sovereign. If I’m going to get the virus, I’m going to get the virus. There’s not a whole lot I can do.”
“There are ways to avoid the virus. Wisdom says if we just don’t ________________, and make sure we ________________, we won’t get sick. We’re going to be fine.”
One extreme tends toward our having no role to play. The other tends toward our having the decisive role. Is it possible to embrace both God’s providential care/control and our need for wisdom simultaneously? Yes.
(When I call these “extremes” I do not mean that it is extreme to believe that God is sovereign or to believe that our wise decisions make a difference. It is extreme to live as if one is true and the other is not, even though we may acknowledge with our mouths that both are true.)
We rightly hold that God is in control of all things, including the moment of every birth, the moment of every death, and all events in between. God declares Himself to control the boundaries of life: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand” (Deut. 32:39). See also 1 Sam. 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7; Job 5:18; Isa 43:13.
God brings crisis and resolution/blessing: “Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?” (Amos 3:6). See also Isa 45:7; Lam 3:38.
God determines the very number of our days. David wrote, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:16). Job, also, confessed that his days were determined. Regarding his own life span, he said, “You have appointed his limits that he cannot pass…” (Job 14:5).
We should believe this the Bible teaches it. However, we should not apply it in ways the Bible does not. That is, we should not go to the extreme of saying, “Because God is absolutely sovereign over my birth, death, and everything in between…my decisions do not matter. I might as well live foolishly because in a sense I an invincible until the moment God decides I will die. Nothing can lengthen or shorten my life beyond what He has ordained.” The Bible never draws that conclusion. Nor should we.
The Bible clearly teaches that our decisions matter. The existence of the book of Proverbs testifies to this, as do all the commands and wisdom throughout the Scriptures.
“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory” (Prov. 24:3-6).
“…wisdom preserves the life of him who has it” (Eccl. 7:12).
So some go to the extreme of concluding, “If I make all the right decisions, only do the wise thing, I will avoid calamity and have a long and prosperous life.” However, the Bible does not treat wisdom as a magic formula that ensures a particular temporal outcome.
We must hold both providence and wisdom simultaneously. This should be obvious given that the Bible teaches both. Yet, how can the Bible say that no one can thwart God’s will pertaining to the lifespan of an individual AND say that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it? We must understand that these are complimentary truths, both originating in the character of our perfect God.
We need not pit providence against wisdom. This is like pitting God against God. God is the sovereign Lord of all the universe (Psa. 135:6). He is also the giver of wisdom (Prov 2:6; Jas 1:5). Indeed, in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3). There is unity in the person of God, so we ought not think that providence and wisdom are opposed. Rather, we should seek to understand how they are related.
Here is a clue: “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens…” (Prov. 3:19). Wisdom is among the means God uses to bring about His sovereign plan. Our wise decisions, like our prayers, are not meaningless. God uses them to accomplish His will.
So how should we think and live during the pandemic? We should submit to the sovereignty of God, trusting in Him, understanding that His providence will inevitably lead to our highest good. Some will get the virus even after doing everything possible to avoid it. Yet, if they know Christ, He will force this to do them good (Rom 8:28-30). Simultaneously and related, we should be committed to making the wisest decisions possible—being good stewards of our time, resources, and health—understanding them to be tools of God’s providence, not mechanisms for thwarting it.
I might suggest praying something like, “Father, please give me wisdom. Please use my wise decisions to accomplish your purposes. I know that whether my life is short or long, you have purposed eternal good for me in Christ. As your servant, I want to honor you everyday by living wisely.”
Finally, let’s remember that our hope is not in being saved from this worldwide disease and prolonging this life. Our hope is that, having been saved from the worldwide disease of sin, we will spend eternity in the next life with Jesus, who is coming again.
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