Opus 2020-081: An Ounce of Providence Is Worth a Pound of Panic

I am having a hard time finding the panic button over the latest media scare.  Like many of you I remember the recurring theme that this time it is going to be the next Black Death.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I am willing to go to the extreme of washing my hands for 20 seconds to keep myself safe.  To put other people at rest I am willing to reduce my trips out into the world and keep my distance when I go out.  As an introvert that is no problem. 

There is another reason I am not freaking out about this:  Providence.

We don’t use the word much any more.  My wife likes to talk about “the God thing”.  Even those who are serious about their faith in Jesus tend to forget that God is in control.  Sometimes it comes jumping out at me.  Yesterday was one of those times.

I was reading in Psalm 91.  The first few verses got my attention.

(Psa 91:1-3 KJV) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

For those of you who went to public school, “pestilence” means a disease of epic proportions.  Now I don’t know about you but that sounds like a promise.  Now I am not worried much about “the snare of the fowler” or the arrow that flies by day mentioned in verse 5 but verse six uses that word again.

(Psa 91:6 KJV)  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

Then we have a different word in verse 10,

(Psa 91:10 KJV) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

Verse 11 gives us a part of the reason.  I am going to use the NASB because it uses the word “guard” instead of “keep”.

(Psa 91:11 NAS77) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.

This is a clear mention of guardian angels.  It sounds like certain angels have been assigned to keep an eye on you.

Does this mean that I will not get sick and can’t die.  No.  God has His purposes and plans and my demise might be part of that plan.  What it means is that as a general rule I can expect to be protected from a lot of the “chance” happenings that go on all around us.  Why do some catch the latest virus?  Why do some die?  Why do others sail through?  At the heart of it is Providence. 

So I will wash my hands to make it easy on my guardian angel.  I will keep my distance to make my family feel better.  I will change my clothes when I come home.

Ultimately I will continue to dwell in the shelter of the Most High.

homo unius libri