By Fr. Roy Cimagala
INDEED, God always provides for all our needs, foremost of which is our own salvation, our own sanctification, the achievement of our ultimate goal which is to be like him, sharers of his life and nature.
This we can gather in that gospel episode where Christ healed many people of their illnesses and when he noticed that they were hungry, he performed that amazing multiplication of the bread and fish that astonished everyone in the crowd. (cfr. Mt 15,29-37)
Still, we have to keep our side of the bargain, so to speak. That’s because even if God has given us everything to be what we ought to be, we need to be willing and humble enough to make the necessary adjustments to conform ourselves to God’ plans and ways.
We have to be more aware that with our creation by our Father God, we are meant to work. Work for us is an essential, inalienable part of our human nature. It is the very operation of our God-given powers and faculties that range from the spiritual to the intellectual and mental, to the emotional all the way to the manual and the physical.
It is what relates us to God and to others, what enables us to attain the ultimate goal of our life—full communion with God and with others. We need to understand then that our work is a vital part of God’s abiding providence over all his creation, especially over us.
God’s providence is organic, and extends in time and all the way to eternity of God’s creation. When God created us, he just did not put us into existence and then left us to be on our own. He continues to be with us, governing and leading us to him with due respect of our freedom, because as Creator, God cannot leave us, otherwise we will cease to exist.
Thus, we also have to be ready for wherever divine providence would take us. We have to be open to it all the time. Even as we make our plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments, and still lead us to himself.
The only thing to remember is that God is always around and is actually intervening and directing our life to him. That is part of his omnipotence which he exercises both from all eternity and in time since our creation and all the way to the end of time.
We need to be open to his providence, because even if God is 100% responsible for our life, we too, in a manner of speaking, are also 100% responsible for our life. Since we have been created in God’s image and likeness, we cannot help but have our life immersed also in God’s life. We need to learn to live our life with him as consciously and as freely as possible with him.
We really have no reason to fear, nor to wallow in worries, anxieties and sadness. Let’s remember that these unfortunate states are fertile ground for the enemies of our soul, especially the devil, to take advantage of us.
We should always be cheerful in life, and strive to show it even externally with smiles and happy, warm and encouraging dispositions. Even in our grief and mourning, we should manage to learn how to be serene, knowing that suffering and death have already been redeemed by Christ and are now endowed with redemptive power. Yes, God always provides for all our needs!
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
