It falls to us to receive what God assigns—to receive it with trust in his goodness and with confidence in his purposes, willing and eager to steward it all faithfully for the good of his beloved people and the glory of his great name.

I want you to imagine that, at least for a time, the Lord would see fit to involve us in selecting the providences we would receive from his hand. I want you to imagine that through one of his deputies—an angel perhaps—he would approach us to ask how we would prefer to serve him. In other words, I want you to imagine that for just a while he would choose to offshore his sovereignty and outsource it to us. I expect it might go something like this.

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A day came when one of God’s angels appeared before a group of Christians who were worshipping together as a local church. He stood before them and said, “The Lord has asked me to distribute some of the gifts of his providence—gifts that will equip you to serve others on his behalf. I heard you singing ’Take My Life and Let It Be’ and thought this would be just the right time.”

“So first up I’ve got the gift of generosity. Is there someone here who would like to serve the Lord through the distribution of vast sums of money?” He glanced at a clipboard he held in his hands and added, “I should point out that this gift comes with a great deal of cash—it looks like 10 or 12 million dollars, and that’s just to start.”

Just about every hand shot up. The angel pointed at a couple of people who, with great smiles on their faces, came forward to collect their gift.

“And now I’ve got some rare talents to distribute.” Flipping quickly through the pages he said, “I’ve got a towering intellect, great athleticism, and prime leadership ability. Who would like those?”

Once more a great many hands went up and once more a group of people approached the front of the room to receive what they had chosen. To each the angel said, “Take this and commit it to the glory of God and the good of his people.” Each nodded solemnly as they took what was now theirs.

“Next I’ve got high position. It seems that someone here is destined for the corridors of power. Who would like to lead in this way?” There were perhaps fewer hands raised this time, but still a good many.

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