Kevin DeYoung on How the Providence of God Can Help You Die Well

I am a wholehearted believer in the providence of God. For your reference, Wayne Grudem defines the providence of God as follows:

"God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes."

Without God's providence, we are hardly able to trust God in any aspect of our lives. If God does not have some control over the happenings of this world, whether that be the wind, the water, floods, hurricanes, the birds of the air, the hairs on my head, or the very minute details of every day life, how can I trust that God is working all things together for my good?

Kevin DeYoung reflects on the life and death of Guido de Bres and his firm belief in the providence of God. As you read, carefully note "how the doctrine of providence can help you die well, serve courageously, and care for your wife."

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This is a portion of the letter Guido de Bres, the author of the Belgic Confession, wrote to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Black Hole of Brunain for his Protestant faith.

My dear and well-beloved wife in our Lord Jesus, Your grief and anguish are the cause of my writing you this letter. I most earnestly pray you not to be grieved beyond measure…We knew when we married that we might not have many years together, and the Lord has graciously given us seven. If the Lord had wished us to live together longer, he could easily have cause it to be so. But such was not his pleasure. Let his good will be done….Moreover, consider that I have not fallen into the hands of my enemies by chance, but by the providence of God….All these considerations have made my heart glad and peaceful, and I pray you, my dear and faithful companion, to be glad with me, and to thank the good God for what he is going, for he does nothing but what is altogether good and right…I pray you then to be comforted in the Lord, to commit yourself and your affairs to him, he is the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless, and he will never leave you nor forsake you.

On May 31, 1567, Guido de Bres, 47 years old, was publicly hanged in the market square of Valenciennes. He was pushed off the scaffold as he exhorted the crowd to be faithful to Scripture and respectful to the magistrates. His body was buried in a shallow grave where it was later dug up and torn apart by wild animals.

I thank God for de Bres’ example of courage and steadfastness. Here is another man “of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb. 11:38). I’m thankful too for the Belgic Confession. And whenever I read this heartwrenching and inspiring letter, I’m thankful he wrote to his wife in prison.