7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. – Genesis 24:7

Our God is a sovereign God of providence. You see, in His sovereignty, He has the power to do as He pleases, and in His providence, He has a good and perfect plan for all that He does. Our God is faithful over all the affairs of the universe. In short, our God makes things happen.

With this in mind, consider this famous quote from Astronaut Jim Lovell.

“There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.”

Impressively, Jim was one of the first three men to ever fly to and orbit the moon. I wonder how much of that mission he made happen? Did he build or program the rocket, or ever “wonder” who did? Did he “watch” as others set the rocket in place for launch? Or did he set the course for orbit and prepare all the arrangements for the capsule to return to Earth? Indeed, someone “made” those things happen. Please don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt that Jim was an impressive man in his own right. After all, he was an astronaut who played a pivotal role in “making” a great American accomplishment happen. The point that I’m getting at is anything we make happen is dependent on other things that someone else made happen.

You see, to “be a person who makes things happen” is to realize we’re dependent on others to make things happen. Providence says that at the center of all events is our God who actually makes things take place. Yes, God uses us. But make no mistake, everything we experience is working to fulfill the plans of our sovereign God who providentially makes things happen.

This week we are going to see God’s providential work on clear display. Take some time to read Genesis 24 and consider how God sovereignly orchestrated the events to fulfill His providential promise. Whatever we learn from Jim Lovell’s quote, it’s reassuring to know that when it comes to providence, God neither wonders nor watches; He makes things happen.

I can’t wait to see what He makes happen this weekend.

Pastor Jerry Lingenfelter